Dawn of the Noobs
by Werelizard
Summary: A deadly outbreak of a virus sweeps through the world... little does anyone know it is but a precursor to something much worse.
1. Disclaimer and Such

_**Disclaimer and Such:**_

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**Disclaimer Stuff:**

- I do not own RuneScape or any of its related aspects.

**Character Suggestion Guidelines:**

Starting chapter 6, I will be taking character suggestions. Here are the guidelines:

- No really super powerful invincible unflawed people. Make them realistic.

- List their weapons, equipment, description, and a short background to them. Tell me stuff like if they like battle or are pacifists, if they are good or evil, etc.

- Names. If they have a name like Sup3rm4nki11er2654, please give them a normal name for use in the story. If you don't, I shall assign them one. Nicknames are okay.

- Please note that any info you don't provide I will create.

- Understand that any characters you send in are liable to die without warning or notice. I won't make them die whimpy, though. (Unless you want me to.)

- Also understand that characters sent in are not the main characters, so don't complain if they aren't seen a lot. A character may be acknowledged several times in the story, or they may be only seen in one chapter.

_**Sorry about all the rules, but I've seen what can happen with character suggestions when they go bad.**_

**Characters Used so Far:**

- Crazer, property of Crazer999. Seen in _The Siege of Varrock_ and _Sins of our Past_

- Jen, property of Jenjen92. Seen in _The Immortals_

- Link, property of Link N Ivy. Seen in _The Immortals_

- Xander, property of near-sighted jedi. Seen in _Redemption_

- Prof, property of CrazyEmoDude. Seen in _Redemption_

- Orion, property of Sir Loin The First. Seen in _Redemption_

**The Noobs:**

- The only way to be infected is to have noob blood enter your body in some way, shape, or form.

- Noobs have some intelligence, and can use machines to a degree. (And also through a lot of trial and error.)

**Miscellaneous:**

**- **Food does not cure people. Bandages and whatnot will be used instead.

**Thanks To:**

- Lord Paladas, my co-author and editor, and owner of the character Paladas Dragonbane and Herinion Cairon

- The fans and their characters they let me use

- The Persian Immortals for giving me the idea of Immortals

- The staff for making a kick-ass website

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_**That's enough of all the technical/legality paperwork, so read on and enjoy the story.**_


	2. Chapter 1: The Beginning

The level 93 archer knelt down and inspected the trampled mud. The tracks were fresh, and the mage he was tracking was running out of space to run. With his hunting skills, he had trapped the mage within an ever smaller area of land, and with it being in the deep wilderness, he couldn't teleport out. The tracks led into a dense thicket up ahead, just as the archer wanted them to.

"Oh yes, my friend. This little game is about to end." He creeped into the thicket with his magic longbow ready, with a rune arrow nocked and ready to fire. The underbrush and thick branches were so thick and noisy he had to creep back out and find a less dense area to enter. He found a clear area and noticed scorch marks on the sides, probably from the mage burning his way into the forest.

"You make this too easy," he whispered quietly to himself. Through this path he made his way deeper into the heart of the thicket, merely needing to glance at the scorch marks to find his way. Soon he heard heavy breathing ahead of him. Silently, he looked over a branch to find a small clearing about fifteen feet in diameter. Near the edge of this was the mage, lying lying on a stump and trying to catch his breath. The archer readied his bow and stepped forward, breaking a twig. The mage snapped his head up and looked in his direction.

"No... no!" He tore out several runes and put his hands out. "Fire blast!"

The ball of fire sped towards the archer. He dropped to his belly and launched an arrow at the mage's back thigh as he tried to run away.

"AH!" He yelped in pain and stumbled. As the archer got up, the mage weakly tried to launch another fire blast, but the archer fired again and hit him deep in the shoulder. The mage gasped and looked up as the archer pulled out his dragon dagger and slowly poisoned it.

"I admit, you almost got away."

The mage looked at him with a mixture of hate, fear, and pain.

"Please, let me live! I'll give you 20k, anything! Just please, let me li-"

With one swift motion the archer swept the dagger across the mage's throat. The mage's body stiffened and went limp.

"Sniveling coward." The archer said his thanks to Zamorak for a plentiful hunt and rummaged through the mage's pack. While taking out several law runes, the archer heard a snap behind him. He instantly stood up and aimed where the sound was.

"If you are thinking of taking my kill, then come and show yourself! You will meet the same fate as him!"

The archer saw a glint of moonlight reflecting at him off an iron helmet. "There you are." He let an arrow loose, and it caught the guy in iron straight in the visor. The underbrush exploded as the guy trashed around in pain, although the archer heard no scream. He walked up to the body and saw it was a level 12, a noob. He was dressed only in an iron full helm and iron chainbody.

"Heh, stupid noob." The archer turned around and saw a noob in full bronze staring at him on the other side of the thicket. "Another one?" He let an arrow fly and it caught the noob in the neck. The noob fell down and tried to pull it out, but it was lodged deep. He fell in a puddle of his own blood. The archer walked over and retrieved his arrow.

"I can't believe how dumb noobs are. I mean- AH!" The archer felt a hard smack on his back and fell forward. The black dragonhide took most of the blow, so we jumped up and tore out his dagger. Running at the archer was a noob with a bronze warhammer held high.

"You stupid little..." The archer threw his dagger at him and it slammed into his chest. He pulled out his dagger and looked the noob in the face to taunt him. But when their eyes met the level 93 archer, who defeated multiple PKers, who killed lesser and greater demons alike, felt true fear. The noob's eyes were pure white, with a sickly crimson lining the edges. The archer stepped back in fear.

"What the hell are you?" The archer was about to grab the mage's body and run when he was tackled from behind by three noobs, who all had the same creepy eyes.

"GET OFF OF ME!" He bellowed. He jammed the dagger in between one of the noob's ribs and twisted it. The noob wrenched back in pain and took the dagger, which was stuck in him, with him. The archer, with no good weapon at this range kicked and punched at the noobs with all his strength. Throwing the noobs off him, he ran to the thicket edge and, in panic, tried to teleport. Right when he was raising the runes, three more noobs tackled him and the runes flew out of his grip and shattered on the ground. Looking around for an escape, he saw the path he took into the thicket was spilling in more noobs. The archer screamed in pain as one noobs bit into his neck and ripped out his jugular. Blood spewed everywhere as the archer hobbled up with one hand on his neck. He limped over to the mage's body before being once again tackled to the ground. At least five dozen noobs were pouring in the thicket, all tearing at the archer's flesh.

"No! Help! AHHHHH!" The archer screamed as the noobs tore at his body. The blank, dead face of the mage he killed earlier was the last thing he ever saw.


	3. Chapter 2: Arthur's Proclamation

**New chapter is up! Not as much action as the first chapter though... enjoy anyway!**

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"For the last freakin time, I am not going to give you anything!"

"Come on, I got scammed and I'm poor. Please!"

I was walking up towards Varrock center, followed by a level 14. I tried to lose him, but the noob was persistent and followed all the while.

"Come on! You have more than enough money!"

"How do you know? Just because I'm a higher level doesn't mean I have more money!"

"Please!"

I ignored him and kept walking. We were in Varrock Square by now, the noob had followed me all the way from Lumbridge. There were several people in the square, not very many considering that it was late evening. The only people there were a couple level 60's and two 40's. They looked with interest at me and the noob arguing.

"You are mean! How would you feel if someone took all your stuff?"

I looked at him with disgust and grabbed him on the collar of his bronze mail. My hand curled up and lifted him a foot off the ground.

"You have no idea what it's like to lose something valuable! And I do not care if you were scammed, I don't care if you are poor! I was poor once too! But did I beg others? No! I earned it myself! I told you nicely before, and I will tell you again: I am not going to give you anything!"

I set him down and started walking towards the eastern bank.

"Can I at least trim your armour for you?"

I walked back and threw him into the fountain. The other people watching laughed and pointed at the noob as he picked himself up and sulked away, muttering something about me being mean and heartless. One of the level 60's gave me a high five. I returned it and walked to the eastern bank. I walked up to a banker.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

"I need some stuff out of my bank. I also have these logs to deposit."

She took them and stored them. "Ok, tell me what you need."

I quickly listed off my items and she handed me a bag containing them.

"Have a nice day."

"You too."

I walked away into the Square and sat at the edge of the fountain. I opened the bag and emptied it. A rune platebody, legs, and kite shield fell out, along with red gloves and boots, an obsidian cape, a dragon medium helm, a glory amulet, and a dragon longsword. The buckled on the plate and legs and tugged on the gloves and boots. I sheathed the sword and strapped the shield on my back. I put the helm on over my short white hair, and put on the amulet. After this, I waited. A minute later I heard a call.

"Hey! Ivan! I'm over here!"

I looked where I heard the voice and saw my friend Vanin by the western bank. He was in full rune except a helm, and was waving his granite maul at me. Vanin was my best friend, he was ever since we met in Lumbridge killing goblins. We tried to keep our levels the same, currently we were both at 81. I walked over to him.

"Ready to go into the wilderness?"

"Yeah, I just got to-"

In the middle of his sentence we both felt a tingling sensation in our heads, the tell-tale sign of someone trying to contact us. Before we could do anything, we heard a voice in our heads. It was King Arthur.

"Attention, all knights of the round table. We are having an emergency meeting at Camelot castle. Report here ASAP."

The tingling sensation disappeared, and we looked at each other. Apparently, everyone who freed Merlin and found the Holy Grail were messaged in the same manner, because once the message was over, about a sixth of the people in the bank all teleported.

"Can you teleport to Camelot?" I asked.

"Yes. Let's go!"

I took out a law rune and five air runes. I held them up and I felt them begin to vibrate. In an instant, I vanished.

I was swirling... flying through space faster than the speed of light...everything was dark...spinning... then... POOF!

I was in front of Camelot castle, with about a hundred other people all asking about whats going on. I saw Vanin a few yards away, talking to a Knight of the Round Table.

"What is going on?"

"Calm down sir, you are in no danger here. The King will speak shortly."

I walked over to Vanin. Before I could say anything, a trumpet sounded and eveyone was silent. On a balcony stood King Arthur. The king looked at everyone and said in a loud voice:

"Something strange is happening in the Wilderness! For the past few weeks people who have been going in haven't been seen again. They are to be believed dead."

Someone spoke up. "A lot of people die in the wilderness! How is this any different?"

The king looked at him.

"Because none of them have reincarnated in Lumbridge!"

Several people gasped.

"As I said before, none of them have been seen again. Their friends who have gone to look for them have also disappeared. So far, we have about ten thousand people missing in the wilderness, and counting.

Some people fainted, and others stood shocked. I looked up at Arthur.

"If it's so many, then why haven't you closed off the wilderness?"

Arthur sighed. "Because King Roald won't let me. He says that so many people are trying to find their friends he can't close them off. They threatened to riot if he did."

People started stirring, especially the people who had friends in the wilderness.

"The reason I called you here was to warn you. Do not go into the wilderness unless you have no choice. You can all leave now." He slowly walked back into te castle.

I looked at Vanin.

"Does he look distracted to you? He not usually like this."

"He probably has a lot on his mind. Ten thousand people, Ivan!"

"I know."

Vanin and I were walking to Seer's bank to get some runes to teleport when a level 76 mage in blue mystic walked up to us.

"Are you guys worried about the wilderness thing?" She asked.

I looked at her. "Sort of. We were about to go in before Arthur contacted us. I can't believe over ten thousand people have disappeared in it! What do you think did it?"

"I don't know. That's what makes me want to find out even more."

"Yeah, anything that can take that many people... it's strange."

We were in the bank and took out some runes.

Vanin walked to the mage. "Are you going to Varrock, um..."

"You can call me Ana. And yes, I'm going to Varrock."

"Cool. Well, meet you there." And with that Vanin disappeared.

I held up the runes and disappeared.

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**That is Chapter 2! Read and review. The next chapter will have more action, so keep checking for updates!**


	4. Chapter 3: The Wilderness, Part I

**Sorry for the wait... but I made it up to you for the long chapter. R&R and enjoy.**

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Flying and spinning faster and faster, zooming in, and BAM! I groggily stood up and adjusted my helm. Teleporting was always a dizzying experience. Over by the Varrock fountain was Vanin and Ana. He looked at me and started walking up to me, Ana behind him.

"Hey, you made it, Ivan. Anyways. we need a place to sleep for the night and plan what we are going to do tomorrow. Do you know anywhere we can go?"

"We can check in at the Blue Moon Inn. They have a nice place to stay."

We walked down the path to the Blue Moon Inn. As I opened the door the smell of beer came to our noses. Vanin and Ana quickly sat down and ordered a drink. I sat at a barstool next to a level 90 archer. The archer looked at me for a second and went back to his beer. I pulled off my helm, put it into my pack and called the bartender over.

"We would like a room for the night."

"Sorry pal, they're all taken."

The archer next to me looked at us. "My room is big enough, they can share it with me."

"Ok." The bartender went back to wiping a beer cup.

"Really? Thanks," I replied to the archer.

"It's no problem. You can call me Hawk, by the way. Well, get your friends and you can get settled in."

He got up and tossed me a bronze key.

"It's a spare for my room. Come up when you're ready. My room is the big one at the end."

I watched him walk up the stairs, then got up and went and got Vanin and Ana.

"We're sharing a room with this archer I met."

Vanin and Ana nodded and followed me upstairs. We found the door and opened it with the key and walked in. The room was nice, a fire burned cozily in a fireplace. Hawk was at the fire, cooking some lobsters. He noticed us as the door closed.

"Hello. You guys can make yourselves comfortable. I'm almost done here."

We looked around and saw several bags packed up with food, extra arrows, and supplies. There was a dragon dagger sitting on a large table in the center, surrounded by various poisons and herbs. Either Hawk was just about to leave or he just got here.

We didn't pay it any mind and put our packs down, claiming various corners to sleep in. I picked a corner by the fireplace and unrolled my sleeping pad. I took off my armour, put it into my pack and sat down. Hawk looked at me through the corner of his eye.

"Hey, have you been to the wilderness before?"

"Yes. I know it well. Why do you ask?"

"Curious." And with that he cooked the last lobster and packed it into another bag lying around. He went to the stove and started making tea. I walked out onto the balcony and looked out into the dark night sky towards the wilderness.

_What is going on out there?_

I turned around and saw Hawk serving a cup of tea to Vanin and Ana, then sitting down at the table. I joined them. Grabbing my cup of tea, I took a sip, then set it down as I noticed Hawk was looking at me.

"Alright, I know you didn't just offer us a room out of your kind heart. There's a reason you wanted us here. What is it?"

Ana set down her cup as well.

"Yes, what do you want with us? You seem like you are going on a quest with all the supplies here."

Hawk smiled, then turned serious.

"I guess there's no hiding it from you. The moment I saw you guys walk into the bar I knew you were just what I needed. There's no doubt you've heard about the strange happenings in the wilderness."

Ana brushed her raven black hair out of her face. "Yes, ten thousand missing, we know."

"It's now increased to fifteen."

Ignoring our shocked, confused faces, Hawk continued.

"Anyway, one of my dearest friends is one of the missing, and I want to go find him. So, if you would-"

Vanin stood up. "No! If we went out there, we would suffer the same fate as them, we-"

Ana whispered in his ear and he sat down.

"Why haven't you went yourself?" I asked.

"As you can see, I have been ready to go, but I needed some others to help. If it would be any consolation, I am not going unprepared. We will have teleport runes, medical supplies, and plenty of weapons and armour. Plus, you might see what has been happening to all the people."

I turned to the others. "Do think we should go?"

Ana and Vanin both thought for a second, then shook their heads yes. I turned back to Hawk.

"We'll help you."

"Good! We will be leaving early in the morning to avoid hostile players, so we need to get some rest. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Hawk got up and went over to his large bed and pulled the curtain surrounding it closed. We all got up and went to our sleeping pads.

"Goodnight everybody."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I laid in the soft pad and quickly went to sleep.

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I awoke to find Hawk shaking my side.

"Get up. We're leaving in thirty minutes."

I groggily stood up and looked at the stove. Hawk noticed.

"I'm all out of tea."

I looked at him then started for the door.

"I'll be right back."

I walked out before he could say anything. I walked down the stairs and out the door. The world was in twilight, not dark or light yet. As I walked by the eastern Varrock bank, another person walked into my path.

"Hey, I'll sell you this dragon dagger for thirty thousand gold pieces."

I looked at it, then sheepishly realized I had no backup weapon. I went into the bank, withdrew the money, and paid him. Since it was still twilight, there were almost no people in the bank. That didn't stop a level 11 to run up to me and say in his little voice:

"Hey, can I have-"

Before he could finish, I shoved him into the bushes. I made my way south to the tea stall. Still half asleep, I limply took four cups of tea off the cart.

"Hey! You have to pay for those! Put them back!"

I gave him the finger and continued walking back to our room. As I opened the door, Ana looked at me.

"Where were you? We are almost ready to go!"

I set the cups on the table and drank one. All my sleepiness disappeared as the warm tea made its way through my body.

"I'm sorry, but I can't function in the morning without a cup of tea!"

"Still, you could have made us late."

I noticed that she took a cup of tea and drank it too. I went to my sleeping pad and took out my armour and weapons. I got on my Rune legs and was buckling on my Rune platebody when Hawk announced to us:

"Alright, we are assigning jobs. Vanin, you are acting as our medic. You will be carrying all our medical supplies and our provisions."

Vanin, who was leaning on the wall next to his maul, nodded.

"Ana, you are our spell caster and teleporter. You will be carrying all runes, and will give us the runes to teleport when needed."

Ana, who had a fire battlestaff on her back and a wind battlestaff in her hand, nodded.

"And Ivan, you will be our navigator of the wilderness. You will tell us the most likely place anyone would be."

I nodded as I fastened on my Obsidian cape and put on my glory amulet.

"Ok, let's get out there, get my friend, and get back alive. Best of luck to us all.

Best of luck."

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We walked up the main roadway from Varrock to the wilderness. The twilight had not recceeded, and we neared the border. Several guards stood at it. As we neared, one looked at us.

"What are you doing? Don't you know how dangerous the wilderness is right now? You may never come back."

"Yes, we know. We are looking for one of my friends." Hawk replied.

The guard leaned over and whispered to another guard. I listened closely and caught it.

"God, it's more of them."

He looked back at us and let us pass.

"Be careful. May Saradomin watch over you as you venture into this acursed land."

The moment we stepped into the wilderness, the air got colder. The ground got darker. The very trees seemed eviler. I took my Rune kiteshield off my back and latched it onto my left arm. I made sure my dragon helm was on tight and I checked my belt to make sure my dagger and sword were there. They were, and I got my sword into ready position. For about ten minutes we walked without saying a word, just looking around for any sign of life. There were none.

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**Authors Note: To make the story more realistic, I am making the Wilderness larger than it really is. For every inch on the world map at 50, that is about one mile. Ok, back to the story.**

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"Ok, let's rest for a second."

We all sat down and leaned against a large rock outcropping. Hawk got out the map and I looked at it with him.

"Well, we are right here, just west of the Chaos Temple. If we were to find anybody, then we should just keep walking north."

Hawk looked at me.

"You sure?"

"Well, it's hard to tell. I don't know what's happening to the people, so I can't really tell an exact spot where they would be."

"Dammit. Well, let's get a move on, I want to be moving so no clans or hostile people attack us."

Hawk rolled up the map, put it into his pack and picked up his magic longbow. I walked over to Vanin.

"Vanin, we have to- where's Ana?"

Vanin looked around.

"I don't know, she was just here-"

We all turned around as we heard a scream from behind the outcropping. We all ran to it, to find a level 73 holding a dagger up to Ana's throat. Instantly, Hawk nocked a Rune arrow and prepared to fire when four other people stepped out from behind. Three of them were level 63, 62, and 66, and the other was 84. The level 84 wore a Fremennik Warrior's Helm and had a dragon battleaxe in his hands. He seemed to be the leader.

"Do not fire, archer, or your friend will get it."

Vanin was gripping his maul in a threatening manner. "What do you want with us?"

"Oh, you'll find out."

At that moment, Ana managed to jab her wind staff into the level 73's face. The level 73 let go and grabbed his broken nose. Ana then pointed her staff at him and cried, "Wind Wave!"

The level 73 was hit by a wave of wind and was smashed into the outcropping with bonecrushing force. The leader whipped around to see his second-in-command's broken body, then turned around to us.

"Take them! Kill them all!"

The level 62 ran towards Vanin, swinging his Rune scimitar wildly. Vanin easily sidestepped him and swung his maul. As they were fighting, the leader looked at me and ran towards me with his axe raised high. I jumped to the side, causing him to smash the axe into the ground. He instantly pulled it out and swung it sideways at my head. I ducked and jabbed at the leader's stomach. The blow glanced off his armour. The leader then swung the axe at my head once again. Stars exploded in front of my eyes as I flew back to the ground. If I weren't wearing my dragon helm I would have certainly be killed. As I laid on the ground dizzy, the leader prepared for the final blow. I swung my dragon longsword at his thigh. The blade blew through his leg armour and cut the thigh deeply. He yelped and cluched his leg. I took the opportunity to roll to the side, stand up, and back away. I tripped over the body of the level 62, his chest cavity crushed by Vanin's maul. The leader looked at me with hatred in his eyes. He held his axe in the air.

"RRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!"

He charged towards me. I raised my shield as he came closer. He raised is axe and swung. The axe caught on the shield and he swung again. And again. And again. Feeling the shield starting to splinter, I raised my sword to block it. The relentless pounding soon took its toll. He swung at me again and my sword broke in half. Frantically, I tore my dagger from my belt and flung it at the leader's face. The blade flew straight and true and caught the leader in the right eye. The leader screamed and dropped his axe as he grabbed at his face. I stood up, picked up the axe and swung it onto his neck. I pulled my dagger out of the leader's eye. Wiping the blood on the ground, I ran over to the others. They were catching their breath. On the ground were the bodies of the two enemies.

"Is everyone all right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Ana?"

"I'm fine, my kidnapper wasn't smart enough to take away my staff."

Hawk looked at me.

"Sorry we couldn't help you. These two were tougher than they looked." He motioned to the bodies.

"Well, we better get moving. The shorter we stay in this place the better."

We picked up our packs and continued on our way north.

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**Woo! That was a long chapter. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it, and I will update as soon as I can.**

**(I might get it up faster if you give some more reviews... think of them as bribes...) D**


	5. Chapter 4: The Wilderness, Part II

**Next chapter is up! **

**Oh, and FYI, right now I am not taking character suggestions. I'm not sure if I will or not, so just please hold them until I say I am.**

**Anyway, enjoy my new chapter!**

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"Come on, there are more footsteps over here! I think we're almost there!"

Hawk had been pushing us along ever since we found some footprints a mile past the outcropping where we were ambushed by the clan.

"Hawk, slow down! This was why we were ambushed in the first place; we were too careless. The footprints aren't going to go anywhere."

Hawk stopped and looked at me.

"I know... it's just that-"

Before he could finish we heard a scream from behind the many hilltops in front of us.

"Come on, let's go!"

We broke into a run straight where we heard the scream. The hilltops were getting taller as we ran past them. Soon, they were at least twenty feet above our heads, with almost vertical sides. After a minute of running, we stopped to listen.

"Do you hear anything?" Vanin asked me.

"No, but keep-"

Another scream exploded right behind the hill in front of us. We drew our swords and got ready for anything.

A level 43, in full adamant, ran towards us, almost tripping over himself. I raised my kiteshield and tightened my grip on my dragon battleaxe. Hawk readied to fire his bow as Vanin and Ana got ready to kill him. He was almost upon us when, to our total amazement, he ran right past us. We lowered our weapons and watched him run, him getting slower and slower, until finally collasping. We ran over to him.

"Hey, are you all right?"

He was in hysterics and was thrashing around on the ground, staring into the sky. Vanin and Hawk tried to hold him down as I talked to him.

"No! No! Get away! AHHHH! No!!! They're- They're-"

He suddenly spasmed hard enough to throw Vanin and Hawk off him. He lunged at me and pulled me closer. He stared at me right in the eyes, and formed words with his mouth, just barely whispering.

"_Eyes... eyes..._"

He then spasmed once again, then laid still. He wasn't breathing. His eyes were lifeless. I backed away, my heart pounding. Vanin walked up to my side.

"Is he..."

"...Yes"

"What did he say?"

"I don't know, something about eyes."

"Strange."

We all just sat there, pondering about what just happened. Hawk and Ana went forward to scout, leaving me and Vanin alone with the body. I looked at the body, wondering. When I looked into his eyes, I saw fear. Not normal fear, however. There's fear when fighting a demon, there's fear when seeing ghost and ghouls, but this... this was true, primal, _fear._ Something was going on. I was just about to get up when the adamant-clad corpse lifted his arm and gripped the ground. My stomach jumped into my throat and my hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. The guy was _dead_. I saw the life flood out of his eyes. And now he was halfway up, and almost walking. I jumped up.

"V-Vanin!"

Vanin turned around.

"What is it Iva- son of a bitch!"

The corpse was staring at us, with his arms at his side. His head lolled to one side, then looked straight at me. I froze with fear as our eyes met. They were pure white, with red lining the outside. Blood ran down his eyes like tears. His face turned from apathy to a snarl and he jumped at me.

"Ivan!"

I snapped up my shield as his bulk slammed into me. I was on my back on the ground with the crazed person on my shield, snapping at me, trying to rip out my throat.

"Ivan! Get your head down!"

I let my head fall back as a large slab of granite swooshed over my head, taking the crazed guy with it. I got up and saw the crushed body of the now completely dead corpse against the wall. Vanin gripped his maul tightly.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah..."

Ana appeared behind one of the hills.

"Guys, come quick!"

We followed Ana through the hills and saw Hawk lying on a rather large and steep hill.

"Come on!"

We climbed to the top and laid next to him.

"What is it?"

Hawk pointed to a figure ahead of us.

"Do you see him? He's the guy we're looking for."

I squinted at the figure. It was a man in full Runite, though one half of it seemed to be badly rusted. That was strange, since Runite doesn't rust. In his hand was a bronze scimitar.

"Something is wrong. My friend is a good fighter, but he is just limping around with no caution. And he would _never_ carry a bronze weapon."

Hawk motioned his head towards the strange warrior.

"Let's check it out."

We cautiously inched closer to the man, on the lookout for anything suspicious. When we were about ten feet from him when I noticed his armour. It was almost completely rusted over, but as I looked closer I realized it was _bronze_. The guy was turning into a noob!

"Hawk, something isn't right here..."

Hawk didn't do anything but kept his eye on the figure. The figure slowly turned his head towards us. His eyes were the same white and red, with blood trailing down his face.

"Hawk!"

Hawk snapped his bow up and let loose a Runite arrow. The arrow plunged into the man's right eye and stuck halfway out of the back of his head. The figure collapsed in a heap.

"We need to get out of here, _now_." Ana said nervously.

"Wait, I hear something. Follow me." Hawk ran ahead of us and swiftly ascended a small hill. At the top he froze.

"Hawk, we have no time. Let's get out of here!" I shouted.

"Shut up and get up here!" Hawk said in a strong whisper.

We climbed up the hill and gaped at the sight before us. In a small valley were thousands upon thousands of noobs, all not making a sound except quiet shuffling.

"So this is where everyone is," said Vanin in a whisper.

I looked at Hawk and Vanin,

"What are they doing? Why don't they go back to town?"

"Shut up!" Hawk replied. He then motioned to their heads.

Each of them had the white eyes and trails of blood.

"They're all moving south... towards Varrock."

----------

"Let's go..." Hawk said while slowly backing up. We were just turning around when Vanin accidently hit a rock which proceeded to roll down the hill towards the noobs. About a hundred whipped their heads towards us and snarled. They started to run at us.

"Run! Move!"

We turned around and ran as fast as we could. Besides various scraps of mail or a helmet, the noobs didn't have any armour on and could run much faster.

"Vanin! Behind you!"

Vanin looked over his shoulder to see one noob about to jump at him. He quickly swung his maul at the noob's knees, cracking them and causing him to fall. We were weaving through the tall hills when Ana stopped and turned at the noobs.

"Ana! What are you doing?!" Vanin gasped.

"Go! Just go! I'll hold them off!" Ana stood between two pillars. As the noobs got closer, she fired two earth waves at the pillars, causing them to collapse, making us lose sight of her and the noobs. Vanin ran to the rubble.

"No! No!"

I ran behind him.

"Vanin let's go!"

Noobs started climbing over the rubble. I grabbed the back of Vanin's armour and pulled him away.

"Don't let her sacrifice be in vain! MOVE!"

We turned around and began our flight once again. One noob archer fired and arrow. I saw it coming and tried to turn, but it slammed into the back of my shoulder. I yelped and forced myself to keep running. My head started getting dizzy, probably from concussion from when I was hit in the head with the battleaxe. We continued running, even after the noobs were gone. I started seeing stars. We finally saw the wall of Varrock in front of us, but we didn't slow our pace. The guards saw us and parted to let us through. We ran into Varrock Square and stopped, gasping for breath. People were watching us. I feebly tried to undo my helm straps, but I collapsed. The last thing I saw were people gathering around me.

----------

I woke up in a large room on a large, fluffy bed. My armour was gone, and my head and shoulder was tightly bandaged. The room around me was nicely lit, and it was extremely extravagant. I then realized I was in the palace.

The door to my room opened up. It was Hawk, Vanin, several soldiers, and King Roald himself.

"Hey, he's awake." Vanin said.

"Ugh... how long was I out?" I asked, barely in a whisper.

They all crowded around my bed.

"About a day."

I groaned and laid back my head. I looked at King Roald.

"Your highness... what am I doing here?"

"You and your party are the only ones to have come back from the wilderness. I needed to know what as out there."

I widened my eyes.

"Your highness, there's a huge army of noobs, and they-"

"I know, your friends told me. I sent out a group of scouts. Only one came back, and he confirmed what you said. Sadly, he has died of his wounds."

"Are you going to close off the wilderness?"

"No, I am taking this threat head on. I've sent out my army to destroy the noobs."

"How many are there?"

"The noobs?" Roald asked.

"No, in your army."

"Seven thousand. I have also gotten a hold of a Kandarin Immortal Colonel to advise my commanders."

My eyes widened. The Kandarin Immortals were quite possibly the best fighting force that has ever set foot on Gielinor. To join them you must be extremely gifted in swordsplay, be completely fluent in their language(They have their own language so their enemies can't spy on them) and you had to have been born in Kandarin. Currently out of the millions of people alive, only thirty thousand are Immortals. If Roald managed to get one of their colonels, then he had a huge advantage over the noobs.

"As you can see," Roald continued, "The situation is under control."

With that, he left, his guards following. A minute later, Hawk was at the window looking out.

"Hey, look. The army is moving out."

I weakly got out of bed and hobbled over to the window. Sure enough there was a large line of soldiers walking into the wilderness. In the front was the general in full steel, riding on a proud white stallion. Just behind him was the Immortal colonel, riding on a light brown charger. He was in a metal that looked like steel, but was slightly brighter with white trims. A diamond amulet was around his neck. His helmet looked like a Tyras Helm, but had a pure white frill on top.On his back was a white cape. On both sides of him rode an Immortal Legionnaire. Their outfit was the same but with no trims. Behind the command staff was the army itself. Each soldier had full steel with steel medium helms and steel square shields. They walked in unison, each tramp of their boots rose cheers from the high leveled and low leveled people on the sides watching them.

"They're walking straight into a massacre..." I whispered to myself.

**---------------------------------------------------------------**

**And that is the end of chapter 4! ope you enjoyed it, and I will get the next one up as soon as I can.**

**P.S. I did take the name Kandarin Immortals from the real-life Persian Immortals, but I don't think they'd mind if I used it.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Massacre

**Chapter 5 has arrived. Sorry for the wait, but I have been busy lately.**

**For some of those curious peoples out there, here are the party's stats, modified after their various goings:**

**Ivan- Level 84, Melee based**

**Current Armour- Full Runite, Dragon Medium Helm, Glory Amulet, Obsidian Cape, Red Gloves & Boots**

**Current Weapon- Dragon Battleaxe, Dragon Dagger**

**Vanin- Level 83, Melee based**

**Current Armour- Full Runite, no helm, Amulet of Strength, no cape, White Gloves & Boots**

**Current Weapon- Granite Maul**

**Hawk- Level 91, Ranged based (He's dependent on range, he's not worth much in close quarter combat)**

**Current Armour- Black Dragonhide, Glory Amulet, Leather Gloves & Boots**

**Current Weapon- Magic Longbow**

**Ana- Level 79, Magic based**

**Current Armour- Blue Mystic, Glory Amulet, White Gloves & Boots**

**Current Weapon- Wind & Fire Battlestaff**

**(Currently Labeled as Deceased)**

**Ok, that may clear up any curiosities about strengths and whatnot. Enjoy the chapter.**

**--------------------------------------------------**

I fastened the lock on my cape and picked up my helm. I didn't care what the doctors and mages said, I was was not about to lay in bed while thousands of soldiers were brutally slaughtered. Strapping on my helm, I walked to the corner where my weapons were. I was picking up my battleaxe when Hawk opened the door and walked in.

"Oh, you are not about to do what I think you're about to do."

"If you don't want to come you don't have to. Just don't stop me."

Hawk sighed and looked at the floor.

"Ivan, the army will be fine. They have an Immortal Colonel, and more armour, weapons, and knowledge than those noobs can ever have. Besides, what are you going to when you get to the battlefield? Convince them to leave?"

"If I have to."

I sheathed my dagger and reached for my kiteshield.

"I figured you'd do something like this. Anyway, I got you something..."

Hawk held out a round object wrapped in a cloth. I took it and pulled the cloth off. Underneath was a brand new, TokTz-Ket-Xil, or in layman's terms, an obsidian shield.

"Hawk... these things are rare... how much did you spend?"

Hawk smiled. "I earned it long ago. It took many days fighting in the Tzhaar Pits... but it's yours now. I'll just take your kiteshield as payment."

He picked up my runite shield and strapped it onto his back. He headed for the door. In the doorway he stopped and looked at me.

"I guess I can't stop you. Just make sure to come back alive."

With that he turned around and left. I looked where he left, then strapped the TokTz-Ket-Xil onto my back and picked up my battleaxe. As I walked out of my room and down the stairs, Vanin saw me.

"Ivan," Vanin said as he walked up to me, "I'm coming with you."

"No, I don't need anyone else... the less amount of people that are with me the faster I get back. Don't try to convince me otherwise."

By now we were out of the palace and walking towards the wilderness.

"Farewell, my friend."

"Farewell, Ivan. And don't die."

I turned my back on my friend and walked north towards the wildnerness.

----------

I sat with a map at the bottom of a rocky outcropping, near where we were ambushed by the clan.

_So if we were here when we got ambushed, then the noobs must be... here._

I rolled up the map and picked up my shield. Strapping it on my left arm, I continued walking north. It wasn't long until I started seeing the same creepy hills on the horizon. I started walking towards a small butte to the northeast.

_Where's the army?_

I started to take out my map again when I started hearing extremely faint voices. I listened closely and ran to where they were.

"Ok, there's the order. Load it...ok, the fuse is lit...FIRE!"

I jumped when I heard a loud boom maybe a hundred yards ahead, at the top of the butte. I ran towards it, battleaxe and shield ready. More booms were sounding. I was getting to the top of a narrow walkway when I finally cleared the top. Dozens of cannons, all pointing towards the creepy tall hills, were unleashing a steady rain of cannonballs.

"Hey! Only military personnel are allowed up here!"

I turned to see a soldier clad in steel glaring at me.

"My name is Ivan. I was the one who first found the noobs, and I have urgent news for the general."

The soldier looked surprised.

"My apologies, sir. Right this way."

I followed the soldier around piles of cannonballs and cannon parts. Soon, we reached the south end of the butte. There was a relatively large tent at the end.

"The general and colonel are right in there," The soldier said. He then quickly trotted away towards the cannons. I viewed the tent. There was only one enterance, and it was guarded by a pair of Kandarin Immortals, each wielding spears and square shields. I walked up to them. As I walked up to the tent flap, they crossed their spears in front of the flap, blocking me from entering.

"I have important information for the general. I must go in."

The Immortal Legionnaires didn't relax or move their spears.

"The Colonel has commanded no one goes in or out until he says. Wait for him."

I crossed my arms and took a step back. The Immortals weren't going to budge, that was for sure. So I waited and listened to the men talk inside.

"I'm telling you, bombarding the hills will not increase the survival rate for your troops," came the voice of the Colonel.

"And I'm telling you, I am in charge, and I don't fear the noobs like you do!"

"What!? It is not the noobs I fear, it's the terrain. The close confines of those hills are a deathtrap to anyone fighting in them! I'm telling you, if you don't pull out and lure the noobs somewhere else to fight them, you will be leading your army to death."

"My men will not die to a bunch of noobs!"

"I'm telling you they will!"

The general's voice came back, madder than ever.

"My strategies are just fine! And they will work, and we will beat the noobs!"

"You know what? You will just have to go without me!"

"You can't leave! Roald has ordered you here until we have won!"

"I do not take orders from Roald or you!"

After the heated argument, I heard footsteps going towards the tent flap. The two Immortal guards straightened their spears as the flap opened. The Colonel stormed out, his white cape flowing behind him, and his helm under his arm. On his right eye was an eyepatch.

"_Tritheria hos mien_," he said to his guards. At the command, they left the door and followed him.

He turned towards the tent and shouted,

"Roald did not hire me as an advisor for nothing! When your men die, their heads will be on you!"

The Colonel didn't try to mask his words from the soldiers around him.

"Stupid arrogant fool," he said under his breath. I ran up to him as he walked towards his horses picketed by the tent.

"Are you the Kandarin Immortal Colonel?" I asked.

"Yes, who are you and what do you want?" he replied. He sounded irritated.

"I was with the people who told King Roald about the noobs. I have information about them."

The Colonel stopped and looked at me. His remaining eye widened.

"Ah, a thousand pardons, sir. Let me introduce myself. My name is Colonel Reginald S. Fuzz, of the Kandarin Immortals. Pleasure to meet you."

With his free arm, he bowed deeply.

"What can I do for you?"

"It's the noobs, Colonel. They are stronger than you think, I think the army is going-"

"To die, yes, I know. And the general is too arrogant to do anything about it, despite my warnings."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"I can't do anything, no. But you can fight with the army, maybe coordinate with the captains to keep as many alive as possible. It's a risk, though. You may very well be killed too."

"I'll do it."

"You are brave. Just don't let it go to your head. Well, I must be off, for I have pressing matters in the west I must attend to."

The Colonel mounted his charger and put on his helmet. The armour on the horses rattled as the Colonel andhis guards trotted off down the butte.

I walked over to the cannons, which were still firing.

"Where is the army?" I asked a soldier.

"They are down at the hills. They are about to begin the assault."

I ran down the butte and headed towards the hills. Sure enough, the army was nearby, divided into divisions, each led by a captain. I walked to the group nearest to the hills, a group of about five-dozen foot soldiers and archers.

"Who is in charge here?"

"That would be Captain Dragonbane, he's over there." The soldier pointed towards a man in full Runite, minus a helm. At his waist was a strange bright longsword. He was busy chatting with a sergeant. A messenger gave him a sheet of paper and he began to write on it.

"Are you the captain here?" I asked.

The man continued to write, not making eye contact, but answered me with a slightly angered tone.

"Who are you?"

"Colonel Fuzz sent me here to help you fight the noobs."

"Fuzz sent you?"

The man turned towards me, surprised. The anger lessened. Slightly.

"My name is Paladas Dragonbane, Captain in the King's Army. I really don't need another civilian loss on my head. Go to someone else's regiment.

"My name is Ivan. I was the first to fight these things and survive"

"Ivan. Interesting name," he turned back to the paper. "No you weren't. You see this sword?" he pointed to the bright sword. "This is Beortast. I had to kill many noobs on my own to get it. As you can see, I succeeded."

"So Paladas, by the way, interesting name..."

Paladas frowned at this.

"Tell me what your strategy is."

"My strategy," he chuckled to himself and continued while getting angrier. "It's actually the general's rushed plan. If it were my way, I'd be away from these hills and in open ground. But I can't object or I'll be relieved of duty for 'insubordination'. And if I change the plan, he said he'd demote me. I do hope he dies when the noobs rip him apart, but he'll take the easy way out. That's how much of a coward he is. The bastard won't fight for his own land."

I pondered his words. He didn't seem to like the general any more than Colonel Fuzz.

"So what's the general's plan?"

Paladas looked to the butte then back to me.

"When the signal comes, we are to rush into these hills and kill every noob we see. As I said before, it has no thought."

"And it seems risky for your troops."

"Yes it does, and I was going to-." A loud boom cut off Paladas, coming from on the butte. We whipped around and saw a flare in the sky.

"That's the signal," Paladas said. He pulled out his sword and pointed towards the hills. "All units move into the foothills! Watch the flanks, archers at ready, shields on all sides, and spears in front." Turning to me, he said with genuine care, "Do not follow. I cannot deal with your death on my head."

He led the charge. His troops, loyal to him, and I, who ignored his command, followed. After a minute of weaving through the hills, Paladas gave the signal to halt. We slowly stopped, everyone looking for orders.

"Something isn't right. I want a squad to go forward. Archers, cover them."

A group of soldiers crept up slowly, everything silent except the crunching of dirt underneath the soldiers' boots. Then, a small rock fell off from on top one of the hills. My eyes widened, and I looked at Paladas. He sensed it too.

"Pull back now!"

It was too late. Noobs started jumping on the soldiers, hacking them to bits. Out of the mist, hundreds of noobs ran at us, moaning and screaming.

"Defensive positions now! I do not want any noobs breaking through us! Archers, fire at will!"

The front lines of the noobs were taken down as arrows flew from our lines. Paladas looked to his troops, drawing his sword.

"You fight for Misthalin! Charge!"

Our lines exploded as we charged at the noobs. I gripped my battleaxe and ran into the fray. I kicked one noob down and slammed my axe into his chest. One noob jumped on my back, trying to claw me. I slammed my back against a hill, crushing him. Noob archers were on the hills, firing bronze arrows into the mass of fighting people. Despite the noobs' surprise attack, our troops were slowly pushing them back. I passed Paladas in combat. He was swinging Beortast at any noob dumb enough to get too close. It seemed to glow even brighter.

"Be careful, the noobs weren't this weak when I fought them. Something isn't right," I said.

Paladas looked toward me, surprised. "Why the hell are you still here!?" I lept back into combat, and blocked any blow with my shield. I began to swing my axe, killing noobs left and right. Soon, the noobs were retreating into the hills. There were little casualties on our side, and the men were having fun killing noobs. So, it wasn't a big surprise when we ran right after them. The men chased them through the hills, laughing as the noobs ran and tripped. Soon, we reached the end of the hills. And froze.

In a large clearing in front of us stood thousands upon thousands of noobs.

I ran to Paladas, who was shouting at the top of his lungs.

"RETREAT! ALL UNITS FALL BACK NOW!"

Everyone turned heel and ran for their lives. The noobs also started running, overtaking our back lines, and brutally slaughtering them. The overwhelming numbers cut down brave warriors who stood to fight.

The army was in disarray, and we were falling back on all grounds.

----------

The general watched the chaos from the butte.

_Fuzz was right. What have I done?_

A soldier ran up to him.

"Sir, the army is in chaos. We're being slaughtered out there. What should we do?"

The general looked at him, then the massacre in front of him.

"Fire on the noobs. I don't want any getting out of the hills."

The soldier looked confused.

"But sir, the army's down there. We'll be firing on them too!"

"Just do it!"

"Yes sir."

The soldier ran to the cannons.

"The general wants no noobs to get out of the hills. Commence fire."

----------

I ran. I didn't really know which way was out, I just followed the mass of scared soldiers running. Soon I saw Paladas.

"What are we going to do?"

"We need to get the hell out of these hills! Maybe when we're out we can form a defensive line and-"

He was cut short mid-sentence as the dirt to the right of him exploded.

"Dammit! What the hell is he doing!?"

I looked at the butte and saw cannonballs flying towards us.

"They're firing on us!"

Paladas saw it too.

"What's he thinking?! We'll all be killed!"

We continued running, dodging cannonballs left and right. More than once I saw men ripped apart by the flying spheres of metal. I nearly got hit myself, hearing one whistle past my head before impacting on the ground. Soon the hills gradually stopped and we burst out of the wretched things. We were in open ground. Paladas, face covered with dirt from the ground exploding under cannon-fire, started issuing orders for a defense.

"All units, form a defensive…"

Paladas paused as he saw the troops. Out of the thousands that stormed the forsaken hills, only a hundred or so came limping out. Even as we stood, however, we could hear the moaning and footsteps of the noobs. The only thing holding them back was the constant cannon fire. I looked at Paladas. He told what counsel he could to the remains of his loyal men.

"We need to get back to Varrock. The assault has been a failure, and we are Varrock's only hope for a defense against these monsters."

"What about the general?"

"Screw him! We are too far away to help him anyway. The noobs will get him first. May he realize his mistake and face it."

Paladas looked around, then back at me. He sheathed Beortast and gave the last order.

"The horses may be still alive. There is more than enough for what is left of you. Let's go."

We ran to where the horses were tied up, followed by the tattered remains of Varrock's grand army.

----------

The general couldn't believe what he was seeing. After watching his powerful army charge into the hills and destroy the noobs' offense, he was astounded to see only a fraction of his troops limp out. No matter what reason he tried to come up with, weapons failure, rogue captains, he knew it was all his fault. And now, despite having the cannons firing so much they started to melt, the noobs were slowly climbing up the butte and towards him.

"Sir! They are almost up!"

"Increase cannon fire on the right side!" He shouted.

He watched as the engineers fired the cannon, reloaded, and fired again, this time blowing up the barrel. The cannons were starting to blow up from residue inside the barrel.

"Leave the cannons! Get all archers to the sides!"

The cannon engineers began to run away as noobs started getting up and running at everyone. Soldiers shouted and tried to push them back, but there were too many noobs climbing up. The general ran to his tent and closed the flap. Outside he could hear screams of pain and terror as the noobs shredded the troops. Sighing, the general walked over to a small table, which had a decorated knife on it. Trembling, he gingerly picked it up. The tent flap started ripping as noobs tried to get in. Gripping the knife's pearl grip, the general closed his eyes and brought it down on his chest.

**--------------------------------------------------**

**There is chapter five. Make sure to check for further updates. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will get another one up when I can.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Seige of Varrock

_**Here's Chapter 6. I know, I'm sorry I haven't updated for such a long time, but there's been a lot happening... some not so great. Anyway, I've made it up for you with a long chapter filled with lots of action. Also, I'm going to start using character suggestions, starting in this chapter, so put them up and I might use them. The guidelines are the on the updated Disclaimer and Such.**_

_**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! **_

**--------------------------------------------------**

I sat hunched over as my horse bounded across the ground. Looking around, I saw that Paladas and the others were also hunched over, their horses racing furiously. Varrock was getting nearer, its walls growing larger every second.

It had been only ten minutes since Varrock's army was decimated in the noob onslaught in the wilderness. Me, Paladas, and the hundred or so soldiers that remained were racing to Varrock to maybe mount a defense against the monsters. As we got into sight range of the city, the guards started shouting and running around. Though the soldiers behind us stopped near the wall, Paladas and I continued into the square. People shouted and scattered to keep from being run over. Once at the fountain, we jumped off and headed for the palace. The guards stopped us.

"Where's the rest of the army? What is going on?!"

"They are dead! And if we don't see the king soon, we will be too!"

The guard paled a little, and then sent another guard to get the king. We waited impatiently, watching the mayhem in the square. People were going crazy trying to find out what was going on. Soon, the guard came back, King Roald and his guards following.

"Paladas! What is the meaning of this? Where's the army?!"

"This is the army! The noobs decimated us and killed the general. Now they are on their way even as we speak!"

The king stood shocked.

"What? Here?"

I stood in front of Paladas. "Your highness, we need to make this city battle ready _now._ They noobs will be here in just a few hours!"

The king looked to his servants.

"Get all the officers and advisors together for an emergency meeting. Go!"

The servant ran into the palace. Then Roald looked back to us.

"Meet in my dining room in ten minutes. This is not good."

He turned around and walked into the palace. I took off my helmet and sat next to the wall, Paladas doing the same. After a few minutes, I spoke.

"Well, what now?"

Paladas looked at me.

"You, do nothing. Your part in this has ended. We will take care of this mess."

I glared at him.

"You know, I am getting sick of you treating me like a helpless civilian! I can take care of myself. And-"

One of the guards ran up to us.

"The king is ready. He will meet you in the dining room."

I turned around and walked in the palace.

---------------

"How could a bunch of noobs overpower the army? It's not possible!"

"We should flee! We can't stay here!"

"What, and abandon our city? Never!"

I shifted in my chair. The argument over what to do about the noobs was getting more and more heated by the second. Meanwhile, the noobs were getting closer and closer to the city.

King Roald stood up, arms outstretched.

"Silence!"

Silence filled the room.

"This constant bickering and arguing is not doing anything. Now, I have ordered all the laborers and army to start fortifying the city. The only thing left to do is to-"

The door to the meeting room opened. A Royal Guard walked in and handed the king a piece of paper, and swiftly exited. Reading the note, the king sighed.

"Our job just got harder. According to this, several large bandit outposts in the wilderness have been overrun by the noobs. The noobs now have better armour, weapons, and numbers. It says here that they may have even have gotten seige weaponry"

A general stood up.

"Now we must face a full blown siege? Your majesty, half of the population has already fled. We have but two hundred remaining soldiers. We cannot fight off an army of hundreds of thousands!"

Everyone started arguing again.

"I said silence!" The king roared, "We must protect this city at all costs. Paladas!"

Paladas stood up. "Yes, sir?"

"You've fought the noobs. What do you say?"

"Well, they seem to have intelligence of sorts. They can use their enemy's weaknesses against them, and they have enough smarts to use weapons and basic combat tactics. However, this proves to make the new weaponry useless. Past iron items, the only possible action the noobs can take is to flail around. I doubt they will even have the intelligence of using the siege weaponry."

"And...?"

"If we fortify the city enough, we might have a chance. All they will be able to do is hit any fortifications we create with their shortswords and axes, that is, if they can't use the seige weapons."

Roald paced back and forth.

"We need a commander to overlook the construction and command the troops. You."

He pointed at me.

"Yes, your highness?"

"You were the first person to fight the noobs. You know most about them, and as such, I am placing you in charge of all defending troops. You are a temporary general."

Paladas stood up, clearly angry.

"Your majesty, this man, this _civilian_, has had no major combat experience. Maybe some ragtag freelancing, but never any organized battles, save the one that was just lost. Even in that one, he has shown complete disregard for any order or discipline. What would he know about-?"

"Do you question my judgment, Captain?"

"No, it's just that-"

"Then sit down. You know not of this man."

I glanced at Paladas, who glared and sat back into his chair, then to the king.

"We have no time to waste," Roald continued, "So let us all prepare."

----------

Despite the army's best efforts, the city was hardly a citadel. Standing over a plan of the city's construction, Roald, several generals, and me were planning on the defense of the city.

"We simply don't have enough time. They could be here any second."

"I have to agree with him, your majesty. We can't equip an entire city in two hours," A general said.

I looked at Roald.

"We can fight, but not for long. Have the civilians been evacuated?"

"Most of them, yes. But there are a few hundred people who refuse to leave."

I sighed.

"We can't force them to leave. Now we just have to-"

A guard shouting interrupted me.

"There is an army of barbarians on our western wall!"

"What?"

I turned and ran to the top of the wall. Sure enough, an army of three hundred heavily armed barbarians stood there. The leader, whom I assumed was Gunthor, was standing in front.

"Hail! We wish to speak with Roald!"

"I am in charge of this city at this time. What do you want?"

The leader turned to one of his men, whispered something, and then turned back.

"We will fight to defeat this rabble. Against our strength, there is no hope for them."

I stood, shocked. The tensions between Varrock and the Barbarian Village was high, to say the least. Could a common enemy really bring people together?

"You do know, that you will most likely not come back?"

"We have talked about this, and agree that this is the best."

"The noob army is far more numerous than you."

"For every one of us killed, twenty will die from them."

I looked to Roald. He nodded his head.

"Then go, and kill as many of the beasts as you can."

With only a nod, Gunthor and his three hundred men turned and marched into the wilderness. As the last men disappeared into the horizon, I turned to the city.

"Well? What are you waiting for? I want this city fortified!"

----------

I stood on the outer wall, looking into the wilderness. It had been a day since the barbarian army left, and since then, every available man had been furiously working to fortify the city. It was amazing how fast staring death in the face could make a man work. Turrets, walls, boiling oil, ballistae, catapults had all been erected, though the work was shoddy, to say generously. But it would do against the noobs' limited intelligence. Amazingly, there were still several hundred civilians in the city, despite all the warnings.

As I stared into the night sky, I heard someone walking on the wall. I turned, seeing Paladas walking towards me. He was about to walk right past me before I stopped him.

"We need to talk."

He wearily turned his head my way.

"What do you want?"

"Listen. I don't have anything against you. But in this attack, I need officers who won't question my orders. There may be a time in battle where I need people to respond in a split-second. So, until I am relieved of this duty, can I trust you to take orders from me?"

He glared at me.

"Well?"

"Until you are relieved. _Sir_."

"Good."

I watched him walk down the stairs and into the city. I started scanning the lights. I had to find Vanin and Hawk and tell them what was going on.

_It will just have to wait until tomorrow._

----------

I woke with a snort. I had fallen asleep leaning against the wall. Picking up my helmet and putting it in my pack, I walked down the stairs and into the city. Despite the impending invasion, business seemed to be going on as normal. Players, not heeding advice, were selling, chatting, or just standing. Walking through the square, I heard a familiar voice.

"Ivan!"

Looking over by the bank, I saw Vanin and Hawk, waving at me. Trotting over, I said,

"Hey! I was trying to find you guys!"

"What is going on? We just got back from Draynor, and we see the city's been turned into a fortress, and soldiers are running around like crazy!"

My face turned serious.

"The noobs are invading. Varrock's army was decimated, and we only have hours before they arrive."

Ignoring my friends' dumbstruck faces, I continued.

"Roald has put me in charge of defending the city, and-"

"Wait, wait, wait. How can we fight them? They are too many!"

"We can't just leave the biggest city in Misthalin to burn without a damn good fight, either."

Vanin was about to say something when someone on the wall started shouting.

"They're here! They're here! The noobs are on the horizon!"

My friends following, I ran to the wall and looked out. Sure enough, a huge black line was on the horizon. I could almost hear them moaning and screaming. Coming from the stairs, Paladas appeared at my side.

"May Saradomin help us..."

----------

"Get all archers to the northern walls! Man the turret ballistae! Get the catapults loaded! Torchmen at ready! All spearmen and swordsmen get ready near northern gate!"

I shouted rapid-fire orders along with Paladas and other officers as men rushed around the city. The noob army was about a mile away, its sounds clearly audible. The crunching of their feet and the moaning was something from a nightmare. Above the lines were siege towers and catapults. The army halted. Soon, however, a large forward chunk moved forward.

I ran up to the wall where Paladas was, all my armour and equipment ready. Hawk was to my left. I had put him in command of the archers, and Vanin was behind me, supervising the catapults on the ground. Paladas was my second-in-command, giving orders whenever I wasn't around.

"They are almost here. Ready the archers," I said to Hawk.

"Archers! Draw arrows!"

In unison, the archers lifted their bows and drew arrows. They nocked them.

The noobs were one hundred yards away. Their moaning was becoming progressively louder.

"Bows at the ready!"

The archers pulled back on their bows.

The noobs were fifty feet away. At forty, they burst into a sprint, screaming. Dozens of them vomited blood. It was a truly horrific sight.

"First volley fire!"

"So it begins," Paladas muttered.

Arrows flew from the wall into the massed noobs. They collapsed and tripped as the sharp steel heads pierced their mostly-bronze armour. The volley took out half of the forward section. Another wave started coming from the main army.

"Second volley fire!" Hawk shouted.

More arrows flew into the noobs. This volley took out most of the first wave, but the second one arrived as soon as the first. And this wave had archers.

"Enemy archers!"

Our archers ducked behind the battlements as noob archers fired. Still, many archers fell from the wave of bronze arrows.

"Fire at will!"

The noobs were taking heavy hits, but they were slowly killing our archers. Looking to the main army, two more waves started coming.

I snapped up my shield as an arrow flew at me.

"Ivan! We've lost too many archers! We can't hold them!" Yelled Hawk.

"Alright! Drop the oil!"

Two men came out from a turret holding a huge pot of oil. Clearing a path, they got over the gate and poured it. I saw dozens of noobs writhing around, covered in boiling oil. They were obviously in terrible pain, yet they didn't emit a single cry. Grabbing a torch from the wall, I looked over the edge.

I dropped the torch. The moment the flame touched the oil nearly every nearby noob was caught in a wave of fire. I ducked back behind the battlements before arrows hit me. Before I could do anything, I heard thuds on the wall.

"Paladas! They have ladders!"

"I got it!"

Drawing his sword, Paladas kicked off the ladder near us. Another one appeared, followed by more. Paladas went and began slashing at the noobs advancing up the walls. Soon there were almost a dozen ladders.

"Back away from the side!"

The archers stepped back, and the noobs began climbing up. Swordsmen were rushing up the stairs to counter them. I gripped my battleaxe and looked to Paladas.

"Here they come!"

Paladas nodded and gripped his sword. I swung my battleaxe at the first noob up the ladder. The axe cleaved through his shield easily and cut halfway into his torso. I pulled out my axe and kicked him off the wall. I swung again as the next one appeared, severing the noob's head. I kicked the ladder off.

"Ivan! They are bringing the siege towers!"

"Here comes a battering ram!"

I looked. Sure enough, the towers were a hundred yards away. A battering ram was also coming to the gate.

"Vanin! Fire the catapults at the towers!"

"Will do! Aim and fire at will!"

Dozens of heavy thumps were heard, and dozens of huge rocks were flying overhead. Most of them missed, crushing the noobs, but two hit. One shattered the top, and another hit another tower at the base, causing it to fall and crush even more noobs.

"Paladas! Direct ballista fire on the battering ram and-"

An ear-splitting crash cut me off. Looking to my right, I saw that the turret was hit by a catapult rock. It collapsed and fell into the wall. Many rocks and flaming projectiles were flying from the noob army. Few actually made it to the walls.

"Paladas! I thought you said they wouldn't be able to use siege weaponry?" He shrugged. I saw a rock hurdling high into the air from the noob army. "Take cover!"

I jumped off the wall as a flaming projectile hit the side, causing many soldiers to lose their balance and fall. Coughing, I looked to the side and saw Hawk lying there.

"Hawk, get up!"

He lifted his head.

"Ahh... that hurt."

He got up. Looking at the wall, I gasped. There was a huge hole. Swordsmen and spearmen were running towards it to block the noobs from entering. I saw Paladas running with them.

"Paladas! Hold them until I come back! Hawk, you help him!"

"Alright, Ivan."

Paladas gave me thumbs up and kept running. I started towards the command tent, by the construction house. Entering, I saw generals and King Roald over a map.

"They have broken through the first wall. We must fall back to the square!"

"Ivan, while we were busy fighting, the noobs took ten thousand men and bypassed us both east and west. Al Kharid has fallen. There has been no word from Lumbridge."

"What? How could they have done it without us noticing?!"

"Almost all the men were up top. Only a few civilians saw them on the side."

"Let me see that map."

I stood over the map, looking at our options.

"While fortifying, the men built a sturdy wall right underneath that dungeon marker there. If we pull back there, and commence cannon fire from the palace on their siege weapons, we can hold there for at least a day."

King Roald looked at me.

"Then go pull the men back and close that gate."

"Yes, your majesty. You will have to relocate the command tent as well."

"We will."

I ran out of the tent and to the battle. The swordsmen were having trouble holding the noobs out, but they were doing it. I looked for Paladas. I found him fighting near the hole in the wall. He was fighting weakly; he was slashed and pierced by arrows. Hawk was near him, firing rune arrows almost point-blank.

"We must fall back to the inner wall! Get your men out of here!"

"Alright!" Paladas winced at his pain. His Rune armor was almost in pieces, the platelegs had fallen off. Either that or they were too broken to bother being worn. "All men fall back! To the square!"

We ran to the inner wall. I swung my axe and caught one noob that tried to get in in the head. I yanked on my axe and pulled it out of his skull. The moment the gate of iron closed, we heard cannons firing from the palace roof. Exhausted, I slumped against the wall. I still heard the moaning, but with their siege weapons gone, the noobs could only pound on the gate with their swords and spears. I used this respite with great care.

"You alright? Were you bitten?" I asked Paladas.

"I'll live. I don't know about my armor, but it kept them from biting. Those noobs are weak, but there is a hell of a lot of them, and it adds up," he said. He put his hands on his knees and breathed heavily. He looked up. "Have you ever fought a real war like this?"

"Sort of. It is a bit hard."

"Damn right. You weren't half-bad."

"Thanks, but-"

I stopped as Paladas slumped to the ground, half-concious. Other soldiers, already in disarray, saw him fall. Seeing their young hero of many campaigns in this state, most began to panic.

"Paladas! Look at me. Hang in there! That is an order!" I grabbed the nearest group of soldiers. "Get a medic NOW!" They ran off. I was startled when Paladas grabbed my arm in an iron grip.

"Before the battle, I spoke to Vanin. He talked about your travels and how you met Ana as well. I asked where she was, but-" He winced at his pain. "Vanin said he didn't know exactly. If you do meet her again, tell her that I was sorry for what I did before we went our separate ways. I miss her."

"But-"

"Do it!" he hissed before he slumped forwards, unconcious, just as the medics arrived to take him away. I watched them rush him to the medical tent.

_Do I have the heart to tell him?_

----------

I sat with my back to the wall, listening to the horrific melody of moans that was the noob horde. Vanin walked over to me, with two loaves of bread and two mugs of beer.

"Here. It's amazing how much food can help you."

"Thanks."

I took off my helm and broke my bread loaf in half. Taking a bite, I looked at Vanin.

"How's Paladas?"

"The medics say he'll be up and fighting in a few hours."

"Did they say what happened?"

He sat next to me and set his maul down.

"Nothing serious, just exhaustion coupled with minor blood loss, and he-"

A noob hit the gate with a warhammer and screamed. Vanin looked over and tossed a rock at the gate.

"Shut up!"

I finished my bread and took a swig of beer. I was standing up when I saw a level 53 walking up the staircase to the top of the wall.

"Hey! Don't go up there! They still have archers you know!"

He looked at me and continued going up.

"Yeah, like I'm afraid of bronze arrows. Look at how much Paladas went though."

"Damnit! He is unconscious in a medical tent!"

The level 53 looked at me with defiance.

I got up, put my helm on, and got my shield and battleaxe ready.

"Come on Vanin, let's get him down."

He picked up his maul and followed me. I walked up the staircase, seeing the level 53 already up there, looking out.

"Come on, get down."

He looked at me and was about to say something when a bronze arrow slammed into his shoulder. He gave a yelp and collapsed. I rushed over to him. He was whimpering and clawing at the arrow.

"Quiet down... it's not a life-threatening wound."

I went over to him, making sure to stay under the battlements. The arrow hit him right in the weak spot, the junction between the torso armour and shoulder armour. I yanked on it, twisting the arrowhead so the barbs wouldn't tear into his skin. I set the arrow aside.

"Alright it's out. Now get down and go get some bandages."

The level 53 kept whimpering. His breath was coming in ragged, short breaths.

"Oh come on... it's not that-"

I stopped when his body began twitching.

"What the-"

I grabbed him and looked at him. His eyes were the familiar white with crimson edges. His armour and weapon were beginning to bronze over. I immediately let him go and jumped back. Vanin looked at me.

"What wrong-"

"He's becoming a noob! The arrow hit him and-"

I looked at the arrow, and then I understood. I stuck it into my pack and ducked as Vanin's maul slammed into the now-standing level 53, pushing him with bone-crushing force over, into the mass of noobs on the other side. Vanin and I ran down the stairs. Vanin set his maul down and looked at me.

"What the hell happened? We've seen people get hit before and they were fine!"

"I'll tell you along with Roald. They must know this. Come!"

We ran to the command tent, pushing open the flaps and running in.

"Ah, Ivan. We have some good news. We have contacted Falador's White Knights and they-"

"Your majesty, the noobs are putting their blood on their arrows."

Roald stopped and looked at me.

"What?"

I held up the arrow for him to see. Sure enough, the darker, contaminated blood of the noobs was coated on the arrowhead.

"A level 53 was just hit with this and he turned into a noob right before my eyes. This has two bad meanings. One, the noobs' arrows are now deadlier than ever. And two, the noobs are learning."

Roald looked at the arrow, then at me.

"This is grave news. I will send out the notice that getting hit with a noob arrow could be deadly."

He looked at the arrow again, and then gave it back to me.

"Dispose of it."

He sighed.

"Well, we do have _some _good news. We've contacted Falador's White Knights and they said that once their defenses have been made, they will send a regiment to help."

"How long would that take?"

"I don't know. Maybe a few days."

"We may not have that long, my lord."

"I know."

----------

**Al Kharid, one hour before its fall**

Afir al Zubara, sergeant of the Al Kharid Royal Army, ducked behind a silver ore rock as a bronze arrow flew over his head. He gripped his steel scimitar and swung it at the noob archer in front of him, slashing open his belly. The noob vainly tried to hold his guts inside and collapsed. Gasping for breath, Afir put his hands on his knees. It had been about three hours since the Al Kharid army had engaged the force the noobs sent from the Varrock battle. The main army had marched further up, to try and block the noobs from entering the northern gate. They had noticed several dozen noobs had made it into the mining site, and someone had to clear it out. That's where Afir's fifteen-man squad came in. In the beginning, they had killed maybe twenty of the noobs before several of their squadmates had become infected. With still maybe twenty noobs left, the squad had only five men left, including Afir.

"Watch out!"

Afir just barely hit the dirt before a bronze battleaxe cut through the air just where his head was a second before. He scrambled to his feet and ran towards Rabih Abdhel, a childhood friend of his.

"Rabih! We are outnumbered! We must retreat back to the city!"

Rabih turned around and stared at Afir with white, bloody eyes. He snarled and swung his bronze scimitar at Afir's head. Afir blocked it, but his scimitar flew out of his hands. Rabih then raised his sword and was about to bring it down when a dragon longsword erupted from his chest. Rabih fell down, showing a warrior in full rune, trimmed with gold, pulling his longsword out of the noob's chest. Afir got up to his feet and grabbed his scimitar.

"Who are you?"

The stranger grabbed Afir by his steel chainmail and pulled him behind some coal rocks.

"There are too many. We have to get out of here," The stranger said.

"You still have not answered my question!"

The stranger looked over the rocks and ducked back down.

"Alright. You can call me Crazer. I was here mining when the noobs first started jumping down the side. It was like a nightmare... they started killing all my friends who were mining with me... there were too many to fight so I ducked behind some mithril rocks. I was hoping to escape, but they didn't leave. I thought I was done for until you guys showed up, then there weren't so many focusing just on me."

"Well, now we're in an even worse predicament," Afir said while looking over the rocks. "We must wait for an opening."

"There's one!" Crazer said. "Let's go!"

Afir and Crazer jumped over the rocks, running towards the exit of the mines. Noobs ran after them, but they soon were attracted to the remaining soldiers. Afir longed to help them, but their sacrifice would be needed if he were to survive. Upon exiting, Afir and Crazer looked north, hoping to see the mighty army of Al Kharid marching victoriously back to mop up the noobs. Instead, they saw scattered soldiers running towards them in disarray. They were screaming and tripping. Close behind them were the noobs, catching the soldiers too tired to keep up.

"There are too many!"

"Run!"

"Help me!"

Afir and Crazer turned, and stood shocked. The noobs here were only the back of the horde; the rest had already reached the city, and were burning it. Columns of smoke rose into the air, and they could still hear screams emanating from the city.

"We must make it over the toll gate and to Lumbridge!"

Crazer started running in that direction.

"We should head for the Wizards Tower. It should be an easily defensible position."

"Alright, so long as it's not here!"

They ran to the tollgate. The guards had long since abandoned the posts, but that also meant it was locked and they didn't have the key.

"Jump over!"

Afir started climbing over while Crazer guarded his back. Once over, Crazer began climbing. Other soldiers followed, attracting noobs.

"Look out!" Afir cried.

A noob ran behind Crazer and lifted his warhammer. Afir's scimitar couldn't reach through the bars, and he had no throwing weapons. The bronze hammer came down and slammed into Crazer's back. He cried out in pain, but still climbed. He finally dropped onto the other side.

"Are you alright?"

Crazer winced as he stood up, and then put a hand on his back.

"I think he cracked a vertebrate... those guys can hit hard... it hurt even through my armour!"

"Come on... let's get to the Wizard's Tower... they'll heal you!"

"Ok... let's go," He gasped.

They hobbled and ran over the bridge, and towards the tower. Behind them, the noobs had broken down the fence and were attacking, _from_ Lumbridge! Whether they had already taken it before Al-Kharid was a mystery. They kept running. The Wizards' Tower was within view.

"Almost there..."

They approached the tower bridge. It was littered with large amounts of debris: broken wagons, barrels, and rocks. The moment they stepped on the bridge, a group of wizards in splitbark armour popped up from the blockade, pointing battlestaffs at Afir and Crazer. Afir saw on the top of the tower were high-level archers, training their bows on them. One wizard stepped forward, still pointing his staff at them.

"Say something. Now."

"Um... we need help. This man is hurt," Afir answered. Upon speaking, he noticed the wizards relax a bit.

"Get inside. We have medics and food. Hurry, hurry!"

Afir and Crazer walked onto the bridge, towards the tower.

"_Finally, safety," _Afir thought, _"But how long would it last?"_

----------

**Lumbridge, minutes after the fall of Al Kharid**

Grubble the goblin hid in the corner of the goblin house. Outside, the sounds of the massacre were heard. For all of his life, Grubble and his race had fought noobs, but nothing like this. They attacked like animals, butchering and slaughtering with no attempt to bury bones or gather dropped armour or gold. He and three others had locked the door and stayed in here, spears focused on the door. The doors began to shake and crack, and finally they exploded inwards. He and the others poked and stabbed as much as they could, but there were too many. One noob grabbed his foot dragged him outside. He grabbed onto a chair leg, but the chair came with him. Now outside, the noobs all started grabbing and tearing at his flesh and limbs.

"No! Help! Someone help! AHHHH!"

Grubble screamed his last scream as the noobs ripped him apart.

----------

**Al Kharid, minutes before its fall**

"Buying full adamant! 28k!" Terry shouted. Soon after, he was clutching a bag of adamant armour. He sat outside the bank, strapping on a brand new platebody and platelegs. The level 44 set the medium helm, square shield, and longsword to the side as he looked into the sky.

"_Life is good_," He thought to himself. He saw his level 64 friend, Krista, walk up to him, holding a rune pickaxe.

"Hey. Got some new adamant, I see," She said. Terry looked up at her.

"Yep. Newly smelted, or that's what the seller told me."

"Pretty cool. So, I was going to go mine some coal. Want to join?"

"Sure. I don't have anything else planned."

Terry stood up and put on his helm and shield. He went back into the bank and banked his sword for his mithril pickaxe.

"Alright, let's go."

He and Krista walked northwards, and were just passing the oasis when they saw a whole bunch of people running down towards them.

"Hey... do you see those guys up there?" Krista asked, "They look like noobs... you never see so many of them in one area."

"Yeah... hey... are those guys pointing a bow at us-"

Terry stopped in midsentence as a dozen arrows flew past them. He fell to his belly.

"Holy Saradomin! They're shooting at us!"

He saw Krista about to fall to her belly when four arrows slammed into her chest. She wasn't wearing any armour, so the arrows went in deep. She coughed up some blood, and then collapsed.

"Krista!"

Terry crawled over to her. She wasn't breathing.

"Oh Saradomin... oh Saradomin..."

Terry brought up his shield as a noob swung his bronze short sword at him. Terry swung his pickaxe and caught the noob in the belly. Terry got up and ran towards the city. Noobs were everywhere, running past him to kill anything that moved.

"What is going on?!"

He looked north only to see more noobs running down. They had broken down the tollgate and were flooding past Lumbridge. From Lumbridge flooded only more noobs. He looked desperately for a way to escape. He saw the gnome pilot cowering underneath a stall.

"Hey! Get me out of here!"

"But...but Glough said-"

Terry held the pick under the gnome's chin. "I don't care what Glough said! Get us in the air!"

"Alright, alright!"

He climbed onto the glider while the gnome pushed it into the air and climbed on. It went up about thirty feet before stopping its ascent. They were passing over Lumbridge Castle.

"What's wrong? Why won't we go up?!"

"We're too heavy!"

Terry looked back to the tail, where one noob in full bronze was hanging on. Terry carefully climbed to the back and raised his pickaxe. A sudden gust of wind made him lose his footing and fall. He cried out and grabbed the back of the tail. The noob lost his grip and fell. Terry saw his form below, his neck and arms in an impossible postion. The sudden change in weight, however, along with another gust of wind, turned the glider upside down, spilling Terry and the gnome pilot. They both fell screaming into the mass of noobs below.

----------

**Varrock, during the Siege**

"Ivan!"

I woke with a start. It was in the middle of the night. We had all gone to sleep, thinking that we were safe in the time being. I looked to the wall, where the sound came from. Hawk was up there, waving to me.

"Get up here!"

I got all my equipment on and ran up the stairs.

"What is it?"

Hawk pointed to a log the noobs were gathering around. I noticed they all had bronze hatchets.

"I think they're making another battering ram."

"What?"

I looked closer. The noobs parted, and sure enough, a new battering ram stood there. Several noobs picked it up and started running towards the gate.

"Hawk! Take them out!"

"With pleasure."

Hawk aimed his bow and let a rune arrow fly. It hit a noob carrying it in the calf, causing him to trip and roll. Before the log could tip over, another noob took his place. They were about twenty feet from the gate.

"Now, Hawk!"

He fired another arrow, and another, each taking out one noob holding it. But for every noob taken out, another took its place.

"Hold on!"

The wall shuddered as a loud bam sounded. I held onto a battlement to keep from falling off. The gate had a significant dent in it.

"Wake everyone up now!"

Hawk nodded and started shouting and banging a bell on the wall with a stick. Soldiers started jumping up and getting their armour on. Another bam sounded, and a larger dent was seen. I climbed down the stairs and to the gate, where other soldiers were heading. They were bracing it with wooden beams and with men holding the gate. With each hit, the gate dented larger and faster.

"Looks like this is it."

I turned around and saw Paladas standing there, repaired platebody, minus the left arm from the shouder down, was on and sword in hand. That was all he had. His left arm and shoulder were heavily bandaged. There was no plate armor on that arm.

"Paladas! Did the medics say you could fight?"

"No. But that's never stopped a good warrior, has it?"

"I guess not."

We looked to the gate. The dent was huge, ready to break any moment.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Okay enough to fight."

"Good."

Vanin walked up to my left side.

"Are you ready, Ivan?"

"Are you?"

"Yep."

The gate was hit again. This time, the dent had a small hole in the middle. I saw Hawk on the palace wall, ready to support Vanin, Paladas, and me. The gate was hit again. One more, and it would break. Paladas gripped Beortast with both hands, to give it more force in the absence of a shield.

"Let's show these bastards who they're messing with."

The gate was hit once again, the battering ram breaking through it and sticking several feet out, its pointed tip almost impaling several soldiers. It soon got pulled out, leaving a 6-foot diameter hole. Noobs instantly poured in.

"Push them back! Attack!"

The soldiers moved in and started attacking the noobs that got in. Archers went on the top and fired arrows into the horde of noobs. The wall of soldiers lasted for a minute before the noobs started breaking through. I gripped my battleaxe and ran in, followed by Vanin and Paladas. I swung and cleaved, smashed and crushed. I hit noobs with my shield, pushing them against walls and breaking their backbones. Several times Hawk shot noobs that were sneaking up on me, saving me. I fought and fought, but there were simply too many.

"Fall back! Fall back!"

We all turned and retreated. We got into the square, and I went up to Paladas.

"Paladas! Keep them out of the square until I get back!"

"Will do!"

I turned and ran into the palace courtyard. Royal Guards were arranged in a defensive pattern, and only broke to let me through. I ran in to find Roald and other commanders at the base of the stairs, looking at a map, hoping to come up with some sort of plan.

"Roald! The noobs are at the square! We must evacuate all the civilians!"

"To where?! The noobs have us completely surrounded!"

"I don't know! Get them in the palace, anywhere but out there!"

Roald sighed and spoke to a guard.

"Round up a taskforce and evacuate all civilians to the palace. Go!"

The guard ran outside. I started to run, but I lost my balance as the ground shook. I looked up, seeing a Royal Guard running up.

"My lord! The western wall has been breached! They are flooding into the city!"

"Hold them until the civilians are evacuated!"

I ran outside. It was total chaos. Guards, soldiers, and noobs were fighting everywhere, and civilians were running all around, trying to get into the palace. I swung my axe at a noob trying to claw at me, catching him in the temple. A guard ran up to me.

"Sir! The civilians have been evacuated!"

"Good! Have all men fall back to the palace!"

"Yes sir! Fall back! Fall back to the palace!"

I found Paladas and Vanin fighting back to back on the square's fountain.

"Paladas! Vanin! We must retreat to the palace! There are too many of them!"

Paladas looked at me. "I hate to leave a good fight! You go. I will buy everyone enough time."

"Damnit, Paladas! This is no time for heroics!"

"I'll be fine. Just go!"

Vanin jumped off and ran with me to the palace doors. I looked back to see Paladas backing up while the noobs raced after us. He had just passed one of the shops when it fell, crushing many of the noobs. Two of them emerged and attacked Paladas. He swung Beortast, cleaving one noob's bronze-protected head like butter. The other swung a heavy two-handed bronze blade. Paladas sidestepped and spun around, kicking the noob, square in the chest. He then swung at the large blade in it' hands cleaved it in two. Staring dumbly at the broken sword, the noob was unresponsive to Beortast slashing his torso. It fell backward. More noobs had clambered over the rubble. They all jumped at Paladas, who moved backward, sword swinging. The next nearby shop collapsed, falling on top of the brave Captain and the noobs. I stared at the dust and rubble, dumbstruck by the horror.

"_I'll be fine. Just go!"_

He had bought everyone enough time; he was the only one still outside of the palace. Vanin pulled me inside. He didn't see the building crush Paladas. Once we were inside, the guards shut the heavy wooden doors, the noobs right in front. We first heard the thuds as they crashed into the doors, then moaning and banging as the noobs tried to use their hands to beat them down. I put my hands on my knees and caught my breath. Hundreds of panicked civilians were packed in. They were all people who Paladas died for. I searched for Roald. I found him trying to answer questions from the civilians, most from the Varrock Herald. I went right up to him.

"Roald! What can we do?"

Silence cam as he turned to me. His face showed more years that he had. Everyone wanted to hear what he had to say. What he did say made many fall into despair.

"I don't know, okay? The city has fallen, and everyone who can't teleport to Falador are going to die!"

"There must be something!"

"There is NOTHING!" He put his face into his hands.

I thought for a bit.

"_Where can everyone go that's safe from the noobs...?"_

I thought of an idea.

"Your majesty, is Aubury in here?"

He looked up, the same idea crossing his mind. "I think so, if he wasn't killed by the noobs. Guards!"

Several Royal Guards ran up to him.

"Go fetch Aubury, the runecrafter. We need him."

"Yes sir."

They ran off, and in a couple minutes, returned with a rather surprised Aubury between them.

"My lord... why did you need to see me?"

"I'm not sure. But he will explain." Roald pointed at me.

"Aubury. Can you teleport everyone here to the Rune Essence?"

"Um... I think so. I can do them one at a time, but..."

"Then come with me!"

I ran to the stairs, Aubury close behind.

"Attention everyone! Attention!"

The people quieted down and looked at me.

"Who cannot teleport to Falador?"

Nearly everyone raised his or her hand.

"Everyone who can, do so now!"

I watched as maybe thirty people disappeared.

"Okay! Everyone who can't teleport to Falador, make a line up to Aubury! He will teleport you all to the Rune Essence mines, where it is safe!"

The people started forming a crude line, and Aubury started teleporting people. I left the stairs and began walking out to the courtyard, where Vanin and Hawk were standing.

"Where's Paladas?" Hawk asked. I looked at him, and he knew by my expression what happened.

Vanin didn't know. "And he is…where?" He looked to Hawk for a hint. Hawk quickly shook his head. Vanin hung his.

"Oh…"

"Okay, both of you teleport to Falador. I'll follow last, I have to make sure-"

"Ivan, I'm going to go with the civilians to the Rune Essence."

I looked at Vanin.

"What?"

"I'm going to guard them. You know how weak normal guards are. People use them as fodder and they do not even try to arrest them. Also, who else is going to go with them? I don't think Paladas will be much help anymore."

I sighed, and then looked at Aubury. He was almost done, only about twenty more people to go.

"Okay."

"Alright. I'll see you after all this is over."

"Farewell."

He ran into the palace. I turned to Hawk.

"Teleport. I'll be there in a few minutes."

He nodded, then raised several runes into the air, and disappeared. I ran into the palace. Aubury was teleporting the last of the twenty guards sent to help protect the civilians. Once everyone was gone, I nodded, and Aubury teleported himself. I then thought of something.

"_What about Roald?"_

I ran into the conference room to find Roald sitting there, staring into space.

"What are you doing? Why didn't you go into the mines?"

Roald smiled weakly, and then sighed. He was about to say something when the room shuddered.

"The palace is breached!"

I heard Royal Guard members running outside, along with moans of noobs. Several of them ran in the room, shut the door, and blocked it. It was being hit and it was cracking. I gripped the runes in my pocket.

Roald continued. "It was my fault for not closing off the wilderness. It's my fault so many people died by not evacuating the city. It's my fault…"

"What are you going to do now? Go down with your kingdom?"

"Like any good king should."

I nodded slowly.

"I am still commander of the defenses, your majesty."

"Ah yes. I guess I should take that burden off your shoulders. I hereby honourably relieve you of your duties as commander. You need not stay and suffer my punishment like the fools of the Royal Guard will."

"Thank you, your majesty."

The door shuddered, and flew open as noobs poured in. The Royal Guards were quickly overwhelmed.

"Farewell, my lord."

"Farewell."

I raised the runes in the air and disappeared in an instant.

---------------------------------------------------

_**There it is, the Seige of Varrock. Hope you enjoyed it, and I will get up another chapter whenever I can.**_


	8. Chapter 7: The Immortals

**_Chapter 7 is here. Yes, I know it's been a long time, but this is going to be a long-term story, so expect maybe one chapter a month_**

**_Read and enjoy._**

* * *

_"What are you going to do now? Go down with your kingdom?"_

_"Like any good king should."_

_Varrock has fallen. The greatest city in the East has fallen. What now? Falador has no chance… unless Burthorpe or Kandarin sends help… which probably won't happen. Why risk their armies for some Eastern foreigners? Maybe all has been lost…_

BAM!

I opened my eyes as my body appeared in Falador. Or, at least, I thought it was Falador. Utter chaos gripped the city; people were fleeing, gathering their belongings, beating other people and stealing their food, and looting from stores. It was an all-out frenzy. White Knights were among them, trying to restore order. I saw one looter jump out from the shield shop, buckling under the weight of several stolen shields, only to be swarmed on by three White Knights, beating him with their clubs and carrying him off to the castle to be thrown into the jails. Even with their brutality, the White Knights were not gaining the upper hand.

"AHH!"

I turned to see a level 32 run at me with a steel dagger, screaming and eyeing my pouch of money. He swung his dagger, and it glinted off the side of my shield. I disarmed him, and snapped his neck with three swift movements.

At that moment, several White Knights must have saw me break a lower level's neck and attacked. I could beat two White Knights easily, maybe even three. But not six. They cracked me over the head with their clubs, hit my knees out from under me, and quickly shackled me, carrying me off to the jail.

"Let go of me! He attacked me first!"

All it got me was a sharp knee in the stomach.

The jail inside the castle was full to bursting, so the White Knights made another one at the tallest turret. They opened the trapdoor and pushed me up, locking it behind me. There were no fences, just a seventy foot fall. There were four other up here, one I recognized with a black eye.

"Hawk? Is that you?"

"Ivan! God, it's good to see a friendly face here. Damn White Knights, I was just trying to get on an overturned cart to get away from the mobs when they got me… seems as though Falador has gone to hell."

"Ain't that the damned truth? Good god…"

I stopped in midsentence as I saw the horizon. Varrock burned. Great pillars of smoke rose up into the air, spreading the smell of smoke and burnt flesh. Even from here, I could hear the moans and groans of the noob masses as they slowly shuffled towards Falador. When they were in barbarian village, hundreds of noobs climbed down into the stronghold of security, no doubt sensing the hundreds of people seeking refuge there.

"They're coming to Falador… Hawk! With all this confusion Falador won't stand a chance!"

"And we're stuck here."

I sighed and slumped against a battlement. Dawn was just a few hours away from showing her weary head over the horizon

"What now?" I asked Hawk.

"Wait until someone-"

Hawk was interrupted by a tremendous blast. I jumped up and saw barbarian village erupting from below, shacks and towers getting blown to pieces. The other prisoners watched in fright as the giant fireball lifted from the remains of the village. Hawk was bewildered.

"What the hell was that!?"

I looked as forms emerged from the giant hole in the ground on fire: noobs and some people, running around in agony.

"The gooey substance in the third level in the stronghold… it must be flammable."

I took off my helm and watched helplessly as the noob masses advanced, a solid mass moving on Falador. In my peripheral vision I saw a fellow prisoner run to the side of the tower, towards Taverley, and cry out.

"Look! We're saved!"

I craned my head to see what he was talking about; what I saw filled me with hope that we might survive. Flooding out of the Taverley gate was the combined mass of maybe five thousand Kandarin Immortals, banners flapping in the wind. The first several ranks spread the width of the Falador northern wall to the hill where the dwarven mines were. As the first several ranks went forward and made a solid wall of spears and shields, several groups broke off and jogged into Falador, breaking up the rioters with even more brutality than I saw the White Knights perform.

Looking down, I saw three men on horseback trotting into Falador. A figure ran up to them, and I thought the figure pointed at the tower Hawk and I was in before the horsemen moved on. Several White Knights stopped them, but after a minute they parted and let them pass. The men dismounted and went inside. I looked at Hawk, but he was busy watching the unwavering line on spears and shields stand their ground as hundreds of thousands of noobs ran towards them. A line of cannons were being brought up from behind. Several minutes passed, and I heard the lock on the trapdoor unlatch and the door open. I stood as I saw a large figure in a white cape walk up the stairway, followed by two Immortal Legionnaires.

The man was in full battle gear, with his white-frilled Tyras helm on and sword at his side. He glanced through the group of prisoners until he saw me through the one slit in his helmet. Without a word, he pointed at me and thrust his thumb over his shoulder. He turned without waiting.

Hesitantly, I picked up my helm and followed him through the trapdoor. Hawk tried to follow, but was stopped along with the other prisoners by the Legionnaires.

"Wait! I'm with him!" Hawk cried out.

The soldier cared him no word and shoved them back, closing the trapdoor and locking it. I looked at the man who took me from the jail. He looked at me and kept walking. Before I could utter a word, Sir Amik Varze and six White Knights walked into the hallway, looking around. They stopped at the sight of us and the leader of the White Knights turned red and pointed at us.

"Seize them!"

The White Knights unsheathed their swords and briskly but cautiously walked towards us. Before they got five feet both Immortal Legionnaires stepped in front of me and the man and, in two intimidating moves, put forward their shields and leveled their spears at the White Knights. The knights hesitated and looked at Sir Amik Varze, who was still a shade of scarlet. The man next to me lifted his helm, revealing the familiar short white hair, short beard, and eye patch of Colonel Fuzz.

"Come now Amik," the Colonel said in a cool, unwavering voice, "I think we both know a hostile encounter between us would be the death of both you and your knights."

Sir Amik Varze turned even darker and exploded.

"Do you realize how many treaties you have broken? Putting troops around my castle, assaulting my citizens, and releasing my prisoners!? I hear you've even sent troops to the countryside! We did not ask for your help nor did we need it! If the noobs-"

"It was obvious you needed my help Amik, your entire city was collapsing, and the noobs aren't even here yet! As for freeing your prisoners, I doubt that this man here could have done anything that bad."

"My knights told me he killed another person!"

"Oh, is that so?" The Colonel asked, looking at me.

"I did, but only after he attacked me first."

Colonel Fuzz looked back at Sir Amik Varze.

"You see? Self-defense. Now, would you please get out of the way? There are more pressing matters here, not to mention the army of noobs on your doorstep. If I were you, I would most certainly have more things to worry about than one prisoner of hundreds."

The leader of the White Knights scowled and reluctantly stepped aside, motioning for us to pass. As Colonel Fuzz stepped by Sir Amik Varze grabbed him by his upper arm, and I heard him whisper his threat.

"Don't think this is the last you'll hear from me. When this is over, there'll be hell to pay."

The Colonel simply nodded slightly and continued walking after the Knight let him go. As we stepped down the stairs towards the courtyard, I looked at the Colonel.

"How did you know I was in the jail?"

The Colonel chuckled.

"The Immortals aren't just a fighting force; we're among the most brilliant alchemists, scientists, and users of magic in the world. We have amazing technological knowledge; one simply needs to know when-- and how--to use it."

"So you have a device that can find people?"

The Colonel actually stopped and began to laugh. He saw me staring and explained "Actually… no. One of your friends saw you get taken in and he told me when I came in. He's outside waiting for us."

"What? Who?" I asked, confused. Vanin was in the rune essence mines, and Hawk was still in the prison. The possibility of Ana really being alive crossed my mind, but I shoved that back. Fuzz said it was a he who saw me anyway…

The Colonel looked upward, trying to think. His hand went to his beard. "The Captain from Varrock… What was his name…? Paladin, or Pala-something."

"Paladas!?"

He snapped his fingers "That's the one."

"That's impossible, he died in Varrock."

"Did he now? Then I must have been talking to a ghost," He said sarcastically, "Come on then."

I followed the Colonel as he opened the door into the courtyard, revealing several war horses and the supposedly dead Captain Paladas Dragonbane.

* * *

**Stronghold of Security, several minutes before its destruction**

Zalzer ducked down in the corner of the Stronghold of Security, third level, gripping his abbysal whip tightly. How did the noobs find them down here? No time to worry about it now… the noobs were swarming down here, killing everyone, bashing down the walls in the way. The entire first and second levels were gone, and they were coming towards him.

"You stupid noobs! Get away from me!" Zalzer screamed as he swung his whip, leaving a huge gash in the chest of one, and catching another in the throat on the return swing. The noob slipped in blood, and fell to the ground gurgling. Three more stepped in their place.

"Frito! There are too many! Frito!"

Zalzer turned to see his level 113 friend with a large cut in his arm, his dragon chain mail half bronzed over. Horrified, Zalzer turned and ran deeper into the stronghold. He managed to get fifty feet before seeing a noob with a lit torch trip and fall, the torch flying through the air before hitting the goo that coated the walls.

The goo ignited like oil, spreading with immense speed until the entire place blew skyward. Zalzer felt a massive impact on his chest as he, along with the ceiling, was lifted into the air. Flying, Zalzer felt his cape and clothes catch fire, and felt horrible burns on his body. The fireball finally receded, and Zalzer fell to the ground, breaking several ribs and both his legs.

"AHHH!"

In horrible pain and on fire, Zalzer saw that the muddy stream next to Barbarian Village was only a few feet away. Wincing with every movement, Zalzer slowly pulled himself closer, until his fingertips were in the water. Preparing to let himself slide into the cooling water and be rid of the horrible burns, Zalzer felt his feet get grabbed and pulled harshly back. He weakly turned his head and saw three noobs at his feet. Roaring in pain, He gripped the ground, rocks, but to no avail. He screamed as the noobs ripped off his armour and helm and tear at his eyes and chest.

* * *

**The Monastery**

Lester the monk sat cross-legged on the floor, in front of the shrine. It was a simple shrine, disproportionate to the vast sacredness of the room.

_I shouldn't even be here. But if the Cardinal thinks I am ready, then I am ready_.

Lester didn't even know this room existed… nor the horrible history behind it. He thought it was all a legend, a fabulous yarn spun by historians to personalize some disease. No wonder no one else knew about it. It took the Cardinal an hour to guide him to the room. It went past secret walls and doors, magic passwords, not to mention the twenty-minute walk down a flight of stairs. Lester could only guess how far underground he was. He shifted a little, and stretched his back. He would only be here a few minutes longer. He gazed around the room, taking in its simplicity. It was mostly bleak stone walls, with no decoration except the small beaten rug he was sitting on. The shrine was only a simple raised stone platform, with an incense holder and stick. Two candles on either side presented the only light in the room.

Lester started to get up and leave, his duty here was over, thank the gods. As he was turning towards the door, the candles blew out, plunging the room into darkness. Puzzled, Lester went over to the shrine. Both the candles and the incense were blown out by some wind.

_Underground?_

Lester took out his lantern and quickly lit it. What he saw caused his heart to practically stop. From the junction where the ceiling met the walls, blood began oozing out, sliding down the walls. Backing up, Lester saw the shrine's candles light up again, burning huge flames furiously. The incense stick lit up and burned down to the bottom in a second. But instead of frankincense, the scent of decaying flesh filled the room. Horrified, Lester backed to the door.

_No, no… this can't be happening… I have to tell the Cardinal!_

Lester turned and fled as the floor became covered with blood.

* * *

**Draynor ****Village**

It was a quiet, peaceful night in Draynor Village… most people have not even heard of the noobish threat except for vague rumors. The smart ones, sensing danger, had already fled to the Mage's Tower or to Falador, or took the next ship to Karamja. So almost no one was prepared when the first several noobs stumbled into the peaceful town.

Jen and her friend Link were in the marketplace, hovering over a map.

"So, the nearest lobster fishing place is at Karamja… so let's get one thousand lobs each, I cook them, and split the profits fifty-fifty?" Jen asked Link.

"Sounds good," Link replied. They were about to roll up the map and head to the bank when they saw a noob at one of the stalls.

"Hey check it out."

"Sorry," The stall owner said after looking up from his book, "I don't give free handouts. Go find some other-"

Everyone watched in shock as the noob vomited thick, dark blood all over the stall, goods, and owner.

"What the he- AHHH! Get him off!"

The noob reached in, grabbed the owner, tore him from his seat, and dug his teeth into the owner's neck. Blood squirted everywhere. The guards quickly ran over and pulled the noob off the struggling stall owner. The noob thrashed about, and threw up blood in a guard's face. The guard let go of the noob and grabbed his face.

"It's in my eyes! AHH! It burns!"

The screaming guard slipped in blood and fell next to the stall owner, who was just getting up, eyes white and blood running down his cheeks like tears. Jen stepped back.

"What the hell…"

More noobs started coming in from the north, around Draynor Manor.

Link pulled out his shield and Dragon Scimitar, and backed up next to Jen. Jen also pulled out her abyssal whip and held it tightly. They backed up into the bank and shut the doors. Screams were heard outside as more people were being devoured.

"What is going on?" Jen asked as she carefully peered out of a window. She jumped back as a bloody hand hit the glass and slid slowly down.

"Stay away from there!" Link yelled to Jen. The doors shuddered as noobs hit it. Cracks started appearing in it, as well as a bronze sword that was jabbed through it.

"We have to get out of here… somewhere safe…" Link thought for a moment. "The Wizards' Tower!"

Jen looked at him.

"How do we get there!?"

"We'll have to fight our way there as quickly as possible. Jen, you hit them with magic and I'll get any that get close."

"Right," said Jen as she pulled out her ancient staff, putting her whip in her pack. "I'll go first."

Jen kicked the door open, the two doors slamming against the sides of the bank with a resounding bang. The noobs all stopped what they were doing and looked.

"Um… Jen? I was thinking we could have snuck out of Draynor first…" Link whispered.

"Oops."

The noobs all started running. Jen invoked the ancient magiks and fired an ice barrage. It hit the first several noobs, creating a wall of frozen bodies. The other noobs started clambering up it.

"Go, go!"

Jen and Link turned and ran, heading past the bank and past the willow trees, where woodcutters, unbeknownst to the danger in Draynor, watched them curiously. They were nearing the Mages' Tower bridge when Jen tripped on a jutting rock and twisted her ankle. With a yelp, she fell and hit the ground hard.

"Jen! You ok!? Come on…"

Link lifted his shield and flipped a running noob at him over his head. He turned and plunged his scimitar into the noob's chest. More were coming. Link lifted Jen up and helped her hobble to the bridge. The noobs were almost upon them.

"Almost there…"

They hobbled onto the bridge, despair filling them after seeing the sight. Barricades blocked the way, wrecked wagons and other debris piled high. In their condition, there was no way they could get over without getting overtaken. Link set Jen on an overturned wagon wheel, where she gripped her staff and drew her dragon dagger.

"Time to go out in a blaze of glory…" She said. As the noobs got closer, Jen threw her dagger at the nearest one, the dagger embedding itself in the noob's chest with a thud. The noob fell off the bridge. Link gripped his dragon scimitar and jumped into the noobs. With a scowl, he thrust his shield at the first noob, hitting his stomach. As the noob doubled over, he kneed the noob sharply in the face, caving it in. The body tumbled off the side of the bridge. Link jabbed his sword through the chest of another noob and without waiting, left a large gash in the leg and torso of another. Jen fired a fire spell at the noobs, causing several to fall off, thrashing in the water until the current swept them away. Link pulled back to avoid being surrounded. As valiant their efforts were, there were simply too many.

The now hundred or so noobs were about to converge on them when five fire waves hit the mass, sending several dozen off the side. Arrows started picking off noobs, holding them back. Link and Jen looked behind to see several wizards standing on the wagons with splitbark armour, holding smoking fire staves. One jumped down next to Link.

"Hurry! Get over the debris! We'll hold them off."

Link nodded and helped Jen clamber over the debris under the cover of the spells and arrows. They got to the other side to find several warriors waiting. Without a word, they helped them into the haven from the noobish swarm.

* * *

**Draynor ****Village**

The man watched the two people running towards the tower to the south, but he paid no heed. He just wanted to keep cutting the willow trees and sell the logs. For the few months he had been at that spot, cutting trees, no one had been able to pronounce his name, so people just called him Sam. Sam really didn't care to correct them. All he wanted to do was cut trees. The sun gleamed off his balding head and he paused to brush wood chippings from his mustache. He saw a fellow cutter, who everyone just called Kenny because of his incomprehensible name, cut down one more log. Kenny paused to watch the two people run past, and turned to go bank all his logs. Sam thought that today it would be easier to work on his hobby; the mean dark wizards had run off quite a while ago, so no one would attack him. A whole line of more people came running after the two people who came seconds earlier. Kenny began running toward the bank, and was promptly torn apart as he came in contact with the line. Sam didn't care; he just wanted to cut trees. He stroked his mustache again and kept chopping. Everyone else around him kept following suit. Sam's last thing he thought as the army of noobs ripped at him was simple:

_I just want to cut trees._

* * *

**Falador**

I looked at Paladas, staring at the new armor he had, gleaming silver, with matching cape. A round shield of a similar fashion was on his back, a matching medium helm with wings at the ears was in his hand, and Beortast hung at his side. The fact that Beortast matched the set of armor perfectly was more shocking than the fact that there was also more matching weapons on Paladas' warhorse: two daggers, a shortsword, battleaxe, hammer, and 2-handed sword. It appeared that Beortast was of a matching set, but how did Paladas get the weaponry? Before I could say anything, Colonel Fuzz walked by, mounted his horse, and called to us.

"Come on! We can't just sit around all day!"

"Wait, wait," I interjected, "How are you alive? I saw you get killed in Varrock. What's with the armor and weapons? They seem really bright, and decorative, unlike any I've seen before in my life."

Paladas shrugged and said,

"I can't say for sure. I remember tripping over some rubble, rolling on my back and holding up Beortast, then I can only recall being in an area of whiteness, and a woman's voice whispering something in an ancient language, and I woke up in the infirmary here in Falador. They told me they found me outside the gates, out cold, wearing this armor, and said it looked almost like a 3rd Age set, but lighter, and stronger."

"It looks like Kandarin, but, more elegant, and shinier."

"The 'good Colonel' already mentioned that. He also told me that it really wasn't, but something more ancient. I apparently had the weapons on me as well, but Colonel Fuzz wanted to have them checked over." He looked disapprovingly at Fuzz.

I was about to say something else when I heard several loud bangs in quick succession. Colonel Fuzz pulled away from the Knight's cold glare and looked to the sound.

"They've started firing. Come on, I need to show you some things," The Colonel said, spurring his horse and trotting towards the gates, his guards following. I jumped onto a waiting horse and followed, Paladas behind me. We exited the gates to find lines of Immortals calmly walking around, setting up tents. To the east were lines of cannons, all of them were firing over the heads of spearmen. Crossbows were next to them, picking off any noobs that escaped the cannon fire. The Immortals were effectively holding the noobs back.

I turned to see Colonel Fuzz and Paladas dismounting and walking towards a large tent. I followed, dismounting and running to catch up. They stopped before the flaps of the large tent. Colonel Fuzz reached into a large crate near the opening, pulling out three gasmasks. He handed them to us, putting one on for himself, and set his helmet on the ground next to the tent.

"Put these on, and follow me in."

I put on the gasmask and followed the Colonel into the tent. We had to wait at several chambers before being let into the main room. I looked around at all the strange equipment and gadgets. Flasks, beakers, test tubes, along with hundreds other glassware that I couldn't identify filled the tables where other people in gasmasks mixed various chemicals. I followed the Colonel as he walked to the end of the tent.

"Arthur! Where are you?"

At the Colonel's word, a man poked his gas-masked head out from behind several instruments. He set down the beaker he was holding and trotted over, giving a crisp salute.

"Colonel, sir!"

"At ease. Do you have the mixture I asked of you?"

"Yes sir, I'll go get it for you." The man disappeared for a moment, then returned with a tiny flask in his hands. "I'll just do the finishing touches…" He said. He popped off the stopper and dropped very carefully a drop of a green liquid in the flask. On contact, the mixture fizzed and turned dark blue. He corked it and handed it to the Colonel. "There you go, just shake it and throw. And for god's sake, don't drop it."

"Thank you, Arthur."

The Colonel turned and began walking out of the tent.

"What's that potion for?" Paladas asked.

"You'll see."

We exited the tent, taking off the gasmasks and dropping them in the crate. My tongue had a sour taste on it, no doubt from all the strange gases in the tent. We walked briskly to the front lines, where the noobs were still charging blindly towards the cannons. They had gained a little ground, but not much.

"Stay here," The Colonel said to us, "And watch."

Colonel Fuzz walked in the gap between two cannons and up to the line of spearmen. He pulled out the small flask, shook it, and chucked it into the noob lines. The moment it broke, a massive fireball erupted and vaporized the first hundred or so noobs. This gave the cannon operators a brief respite from the wall of noobs. Laughing, the Colonel walked back to us.

"See that? This is how good it is that we are here. We can study the noobs, test out weapons against them, see what makes them tick. Now, imagine a volley of arrows, each arrow having a flask strapped onto them. We're talking city killers, the end to sieges, not to mention the effect of them on the noobs."

I looked at Paladas.

"We might survive this after all."

"There's one thing though," The Colonel said, "We don't know _why_ this is happening. We can't find Patient Zero, or any bacteria or viruses in the blood. We got samples of noob blood, we've analyzed it, but there's nothing in it that should make it like it is. It's thicker and darker than normal, but there's no scientific evidence telling us why. I don't understand it."

We were about to turn and leave when two Immortals walked up.

"Sir! These priests wish to see you."

The Colonel turned and saw several monks and a mage walk up to them. The mage was easy to pick out; he had white robes with blue trim, unlike any I've seen. He carried not only a staff, but a longsword was in a scabbard at his side. His hair was shockingly white, but yet he appeared almost as young as I was, with blue eyes that have seen many years. I figured that he was more of a battlemage than your average spellcaster.

"Well, who are you?" the Colonel snapped. "I must tell you, I am rather busy, so if you could-"

The head monk cut him off.

"This is important, Colonel. I am Cardinal Lombardi, leader of the Saradomin monastery," He gestured towards the mage next to him, "And this is War-Wizard Herinion Cairon. With his help-"

"Ah, yes. I've heard that you've-"

"There's no time, Colonel. You need to come with us. We've found out something terrible, something hidden. Something…" he trailed off.

Herinion finished. "Something more ancient than time itself. Something that required the joint powers of the Gods to seal away." He paused."Something that is both All and Nothing. It has returned."

_

* * *

**And thus Chapter Seven has come to its end. I have hoped you enjoyed.**_

**_And I may get the next chapter done sooner than expected, so check back regularly._**


	9. Chapter 8: Redemption

_**Welcome readers**__**! This chapter is a little shorter, but good nonetheless.**_

_**Here's **__**Chapter**__** 8.**_

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"All and Nothing? What does that have to do… wait… I remember the bards called that ancient plague-"

"No, Colonel, it was no plague. If you come with us I will explain," Herinion said quickly.

The Colonel sighed and grabbed a soldier walking by.

"Soldier, I must leave the field for a bit. Go find Major Karsenev and tell him to report here. And also find our horses and lead them back here, ready to travel."

I froze at the name of the major. The soldier stiffened and gave a brisk salute.

"_Scharn __vai __scharn!_" He replied in the rough Immortal tongue before running off. Turning to the priests, Colonel Fuzz asked,

"Do you need any soldiers?"

"Our fighting monks are holding off the noobs, but some relief would be nice. But Colonel, we really must hurry."

The Colonel nodded, and turned to see our horses being led to us. On the left was a tall, large built man with graying hair, wearing the Kandarin insignia for a major on his shoulders, a white cape, and having the trims of an officer on his armour. He walked up to the Colonel and saluted, which the Colonel returned.

"_Nark __une__ met __orfein __scharn?_"

"No need for our language, Major. There are no enemies to overhear us. Now, I need to go to the monastery to help reinforce it. By the time I get back I want an entire quarantine line around Falador castle and the Taverley gate. Start ferrying all the civilians into the gate and into the refugee camps the Burthorpe military are setting up. No one gets in without a complete examination. Understood?"

The major answered with an accent similar to my own.

"Yes, sir. If the noobs begin breaking through, I'll pull back the men into the gate and hold them there."

"Good. Get a battalion of mounted troops to accompany me to the monastery.

"Right away, sir."

He turned to walk to the back lines. I averted my gaze, but he saw me and stopped.

"Ivan? Ivan… is that you?"

I sighed and said,

"Hello father."

* * *

**Somewhere in the Wilderness**

Xander poked his head out from behind the rock… there were no noobs nearby. Launching himself from the outcropping, he sprinted across the field, each hand carrying a bucket. He ran into the dragon field, dodging the dragons until he got to the middle where a large rock jutted out. He set down the two buckets and scrambled for the hidden door. He found the hatch and pulled it open, grabbed the buckets, and ran inside, slamming the door behind him.

"Not so loudly!"

Xander set the buckets down and leaned against the wall.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Whatever… let's see what you have…"

The figure sitting in the cave got up and stalked over, looking at the buckets. The figure had white hair, wore full Runite and had a dragon scimitar on his back. Strapped on his leg was a dragon dagger. He peered inside the buckets. One was half-filled with muddy water, while the other was various had about a third of it filled with various plants.

"That's it!? That's all you got!?" He exploded. Xander backed up, hands held up in defense.

"It's not my fault! A couple noobs saw me so I ran…"

"A couple? Even a dog could kill a couple noobs! Why didn't you just-"

"Orion, will you shut up?" came a voice from the back of the cave, "I'm trying to sleep!"

"Xander just came back with some food," Orion shouted into the cave. A rustling sound was heard, and another figure walked up. This one was rather tall, and of a strong build. He crept over to the bucket and withdrew a cup from his pocket. He dipped it in the water, grabbed three plants, and retreated to the back of the cave.

"Don't gorge yourself on them Prof… although I can barely stomach them," Orion said as he took his share and seated himself. Xander was left looking at a mouthful of water left and the stem of some woody plant. He grimaced and swallowed the stem, washing down the bitter taste with the water. Sighing, he slumped down on the wall by the door, sitting cross legged and thinking. It had been this way for the past few weeks, ever since he was run out of his home by noobs, ever since he found Orion and Professor Kirk wandering in the wilderness, ever since they took to hiding in this wretched hole surrounded by dragons. It was quite ingenious, their hideout. With the dragons around, the noobs couldn't get in without getting fried. And ever since they discovered the fungus growing around could be smeared on their armour, and the dragons absolutely hated the smell, getting in and out was easier than ever.

"Ok, I'm checking it out," said Orion, getting up and drawing his dragon scimitar. He grabbed some fungus growing on the wall, crushed it and smeared it on his chest. He pushed open the door a crack, and peered out.

"We have a couple!"

Xander got up, adamant longsword in hand, and looked out. Sure enough, there was a group of a dozen or so noobs rambling around in the distance. Every now and then, to give them something to do, Xander and the two others would go out and have some fun killing groups of noobs that wandered by, although Xander though it was frightfully dangerous. Xander stood back as Prof got up from the back of the cave, smeared some fungus on him, and left the cave after Orion. With a sigh, Xander followed suit. They walked by the dragons who, after looking ready to attack, recoiled and went about walking around like normal. Soon the noobs spotted them and started running towards them.

"It's party time!" Orion shouted as he jumped into the fray, stabbing his sword through a noob's chest. Prof followed, his whip lashing out. He turned and shouted,

"Xander! Get in here! Have some fun!"

Xander started to walked forward, before he looked behind him. He barely had enough time to lift his kiteshield before a noob jumped on him. He frantically stabbed his foe, and the noob fell off limply. He got up, and saw hundreds of noobs running at them from the other side. The noobs had set a perfect trap.

"Orion! Prof!" He shouted. They turned, the last noob being dispatched. Orion saw the hundreds running at them.

"Holy shit! Get back! Let the dragons take care of them!"

They all backpedaled, standing by their cave and watching. The dragons reared, spraying billowing fire at the noobs, roasting dozens. Then a dragon reached forward and grabbed a struggling noob with its massive jaws and crunched him in half, swallowing the legs.

"Oh crap."

The dragon reared back to spray more fire, but stopped. It started twitching, then fell over. The body twitched, then went still.

"Maybe we should get out of here…"

The dragon lifted its legs and slowly stood back up. It looked at them with white eyes, then turned and bit another dragon on its neck. Horrified, they watched as the remainder of the dragons were killed and reanimated. Once the slaughter was over, one turned towards them and shot a fireball out of its flaming maw. Xander jumped to the side, rolling to avoid the fireball. Orion and Prof didn't see it until it hit. It exploded, sending jagged rocks flying and sending Prof into the air. Orion managed to lift his shield, protecting him from most of the shrapnel, and he was blown backwards about ten yards from the noobs. They started running at him. Orion slowly got up, wincing, and started slashing at noobs that got close. Prof was lying farther away, his foot pinned under a fallen pillar. He groaned and saw Orion fighting off the noobs, then looked at Xander.

"Go help him," he shouted, pointing his finger, "Go!"

Xander stood at his spot, stunned. His adamant longsword fell from his grasp. Prof pushed at the rock, but to no avail. Still heaving, he looked at Xander again.

"What the hell are you doing!? Help him!"

Xander just watched in horror as Orion slashed a noob's head off, leaving his stomach open. A noob took the opening and thrust an iron longsword through Orion's belly. He doubled over, and a noob jumped on his back, plunging a bronze dagger into his neck. Orion fell as more noobs struck him in more and more areas.

"No! No!" Prof screamed as he watched. With one massive heave, he managed to move the rock enough to wrench his foot out. He ran lashing his whip at the noobs on Orion. There were only about a dozen left, so in his fury, Prof killed the rest of them. One had only one leg and was trying to crawl around, using one arm to slash with a knife. Xander snapped out of his shock and slowly walked to the carnage after picking up his sword. Prof was furiously beating on the surviving noob with his boot, smashing the head into a brainy, lumpy pulp. Prof turned and looked at Orion. He had multiple stab wounds and was bitten and mangled, and an eye was missing. Miraculously, he was still alive. Extremely slowly, he lifted one trembling gloved hand into the air. Prof gripped it as it fell still and cold. Prof fell on his knees and looked at Xander.

"You!" he sobbed, pointing an accusing finger at him, "It's your fault! Because of you, Orion's dead! You damn coward… You could have helped him but you…" he broke down into sobs. A minute later, he picked himself up, took Orion's scimitar, and cut off the corpse's head before it reanimated. He rummaged through his pack, pulled out a spade, and began digging a grave. Xander began to help, but Prof stopped him. "No, don't. Just don't… Just get back to the cave."

---

The night was very quiet; Prof laid still at the back of the cave, and Xander sat with his back against the wall. He pondered the previous day's doings, and why he had acted as he did.

_I know I've been cowardly before, but that was just…_

Xander hung his head in his hands and wept from exhaustion, fear, and grief. It was all too much… all just too much. With one hand, he grabbed his adamant dagger and held it up to his neck, but before he could move, he heard the door shudder. Turning, he saw the door just in time to see it shatter. A noob jumped in, carrying a huge axe. Judging by the muscles and axe, Xander assumed it was a barbarian turned noob. Xander jumped up and chucked his dagger at the brute, catching it in the shoulder. He picked up his longsword and drove it through the noob's neck. The doorway continued to fill with more noobs.

"Prof! We need to get out of here!"

Xander held up his shield and used it to hold back the noobs. He swung with his sword again, only to find out it was bronze. Yelping in surprise, he dropped it and backed up, bumping into a body. He turned to see Orion standing there, half decomposed and with several bronze weapons stuck in him, wailing, "Xander! Help me! Help me!"

The body then grabbed Xander by the neck, lifting him off the ground… he gasped for air…

Xander awoke to Prof shaking his shoulder. He gasped for air, and found his amulet had wrapped around his neck. Shaking, Xander stood up and straightened out his amulet. Prof stood up too and looked at him.

"Are you alright? You were-"

"I'm fine, fine…"

Prof looked behind him, then back forward.

"I think we should leave in a few days. That… _fiasco_ yesterday attracted too much attention."

Xander nodded and went back to sleep. For the next few days, Xander was haunted by dreams of death and Orion, of dragons and being burnt alive. Even in the day, Xander would think he would see a ravaged Orion walking by. It was starting to drive him insane, so it was a great relief when they left.

Xander picked up his pack and opened the door. They left the bloodstained clearing and headed northward, hoping to find refuge in the ruins near there. They walked in silence, Prof not caring to look at Xander, and Xander not wanting to look at Prof. He still wondered why he did what he did, the last look on Orion's face before dying, the dream, and what he was about to do in the dream.

_Maybe it isn't such a bad thought. I can't even live with myself…_

This is what he thought for the hour or so they walked, in absolute silence. Every now and then they would pass groups of noobs, but they avoided them and kept going. While he was walking, Xander's kiteshield slipped, he paused a second to fix it, and kept walking up the hill. He froze at the top as he saw a hundred or so noobs shuffling around. Prof slowly began backing up.

"Just back up slowly…" Prof whispered. Xander nodded and backed slowly down, but slipped. With a loud thud, he landed heavily on his back. The noobs, whipped their heads towards them and ran. "Run! Go!" Prof yelled.

Prof and Xander ran, noobs trailing them. They ran past the ruins, and seeing no place to hide, continued on. Xander's lungs burned, and he ran onward, hoping desperately for a miracle.

"Xander! Get your head down!"

Xander bent his head down, and two Gnome gliders rocketed past just above his head. They slowed, then turned back, and veered so that they were flying about ten feet above their heads. The pilot of one signaled to the back, and two drag flaps opened. The gilder slowed to their speed, and the goggled head of a copilot popped up and shouted,

"We can't land here! Keep heading north, there's a bridge!" He pointed northward. "We can land on the other side and pick you up! Hurry!"

With that the glider's drag flaps closed and sped up, heading into the distance. Xander saw the edge of the bridge in the distance. The distance was long, Xander couldn't keep it up.

"Catch!"

Xander looked up to see Prof tossing a strange purple fruit through the air. Xander instantly recognized it and he filled with relief. Catching the fruit, he bit into it. His limbs surged with energy and his muscles ceased to ache. With the newfound energy, he and Prof raced the distance to the bridge. It was an ancient, rickety bridge, probably several decades old. It seemed ready break with the slightest provocation. Xander looked behind him to see that they had gained little distance with the noobs, and they were barreling down on them. Xander realized something. Breathing heavily, he turned to Prof.

"We won't be able to get across… that bridge will never hold more than three people. The noobs will follow us." Xander turned and looked at the noobs. "Go!" He shouted, practically pushing Prof onto the bridge before he could say anything. Prof turned and held onto the swaying bridge and looked at Xander as he unsheathed his adamant sword.

"No! You are not going to-"

"Just go!" Xander shouted as the first noob jumped at him. He lifted his shield, sending the noob over him and into the chasm behind him. He turned, seeing Prof scowl and turn to get across the bridge. Xander swung his sword at another noob, decapitating it.

"Xander! Let's go!" Xander heard Prof yell. He whipped his head around, seeing Prof safely on the other side. Behind him were the two gliders, waving him on. Xander then looked at the horde of noobs behind him, knowing what he had to do. There was no way to get across without the noobs following him, and if the noobs followed, the gliders couldn't get off the ground fast enough. He smiled sadly, waving at his friend.

"What the hell are you do- no!"

Xander swept his sword on the ropes holding the bridge, neatly severing them. The bridge fell into the chasm. Turning to his foes, Xander shouted and jumped into the mass of noobs, slashing, stabbing, crushing with his shield, and killing all he could. He felt an arrow hit his thigh, but kept fighting. In a momentary respite, he arched his head up. He saw two gliders flying away, Prof on one of them. Then he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Looking down, Xander saw a noob holding onto a bronze shortsword embedded in his belly. Xander brought up his sword, and found his arm to be a stump. Looking, he saw a large noob holding an iron battleaxe, fresh blood on its blade. Xander fell to his knees.

_This is it. I've done it. Prof is safe, Orion is avenged. I've done it._

Xander smiled as more blades cut into him. He had proven himself to Prof, but more importantly he had proven himself to himself. He would be haunted no more.

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_**And there she is.**_

_**Oh, and the next chapter will get you off that cliff you're hanging onto. Check regularly for it.**_


	10. Chapter 9: Sins of our Past

_**Merry Christmas everyone, here's my gift to you...**_

_**Chapter 9!**_

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**The Wizards' Tower**

Crazer walked up the steep staircase of the tower, a pigeon perched quietly on his arm. The bird looked at him quizzically, cocking its head and scratching at the paper tied to its leg. Crazer stepped off the last stair and walked into the top room of the tower. He looked at the empty demon cage and sighed. The occupant had been killed and eaten long ago. He went to one the windows and opened it, ignoring the rancid smell of decaying flesh flowing in. He looked at the sight below. Thousands of noobs gathered just on the other side of the bridge, shuffling around and moaning. Every now and then one would fall into the river, thrashing about until getting swept away by the current.

Crazer looked at the bird on his arm, scowling at their predicament. The little piece of paper on its leg was their last hope. The survivors' food supply had been running dangerously low, and it was only a matter of time before they all starved. It was also ironic, how in all these magic experts, wise wizards, and warriors, not a single one of them had a law rune. Sighing, Crazer stuck his arm out the window and let the bird go towards Falador, its small form flapping madly against the wind.

**Falador**

"Ivan! I thought you were dead!" My father exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me. I slowly returned the embrace. "Where have you been all these years? I thought you were dead!"

I released myself from the embrace as Colonel Fuzz walked over. He looked at me and then to Karsenev.

"It's true… the resemblance is uncanny. Strange how I've never noticed before. But if he's your father, then that means…"

"I'm Kandarin. Yes, I know," I replied. Around us started appearing mounted Kandarins, trotting towards the monastery.

"While I hate to break up a reunion," The Colonel said, "But we really must get going." He turned around and mounted his horse, the usual two guards on either side of him. I turned to my father.

"I have to go… but we'll talk when I get back. I promise."

"I understand. We both have duties. I'll see you soon," He said. He began to turn around, but, as if remembering something, turned back. He whispered, "Watch your back when you're near Fuzz."

"What?" I asked, but he was already walking towards the cannons and shouting orders in Kandarin. I pondered his words as I mounted the horse waiting for me, a black charger. I spurred it on and joined the line of soldiers heading into no man's land.

---

Dawn was just coming over the mountains when thunder ripped apart the sky. Grumbling, I put on my helm and prepared for the cold rain. It was just beginning to sprinkle when Paladas spurred his horse up next to mine.

"So you're a Kandarin?" He asked. I rubbed my neck and gripped the reins.

"Yes."

"An Immortal?"

"I could have been… but…"

"What?"

"If I'm going to tell this story, I'm going to tell it once." I said, spurring the horse forward to Colonel Fuzz, Paladas following. The Colonel, who had been talking with Herinion and the priests, looked at me.

"So Karsenev is your father. Were you ever in the Immortals?" He inquired. The rain had picked up now, and was turning into a downpour, turning the ground into a muddy, slippery mess.

"Yes," I said, pausing to hold on as my horse slipped in the mud. With a kick, the horse recovered and continued plodding along. "Damn mud… anyway, with my father a sergeant already, I joined the Immortals when I was fourteen."

"A little older than normal," Colonel Fuzz said.

"Yeah, but they made an exception. Anyway, me and the other recruits went through the training; learning the Kandarin language, military tactics, and the history of Kandarin."

"So you know the Kandarin language?" Paladas asked.

"_Vai_. Yes," I replied. The horses began slowly walking up a slow incline.

"So why aren't you- son of a bitch!"

The horse Paladas was riding on suddenly slipped in the mud, falling sideways and landing on its side, spilling Paladas and the items on the saddle over the muddy ground..

"_Sairnt! _Halt!" Colonel Fuzz shouted. The procession halted as the Colonel and I dismounted and helped Paladas up. He angrily kicked at the struggling horse, only to miss and almost fall into the mud again. Two other Immortals dismounted and helped gather up the fallen weapons and stashed them back on the saddle after the horse got back up.

"Idiot horse," Paladas grumbled as he mounted on the horse again. The heavy rainfall soon washed off the mud smeared on his armor.

"We all set?" Colonel Fuzz asked as he mounted his horse. I nodded as I gripped my horse's reins and clambered on. "Move out! _Karish __ni!_" The procession started up again and we slowly moved forward.

"So what were you saying Paladas?" I asked. He wiped off some muddy water and spat over the side of his horse. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the cloud-covered sky.

"I was going to ask why you still not an Immortal."

"Oh… well… this is why I hate telling this story. I breezed through the academic part of the training, then came the military training. After a month or so of basic sword skills and archery skills, our commander, Captain Malth, saw it fit to let us view an actual battle, since we were invading the elves at the time. So he took us to a plateau overlooking a battle, a plateau that was to be used for a cannon bombardment on an elven "military" position…" I stopped a second, and sighed, looking to the ground. Colonel Fuzz watched me, knowing the incident well.

"I'll finish for you. This bastard Malth had his trainees fire upon the position, which he knew damn well wasn't a military position, but a civilian safehouse. Killed them all. Later named _The Arandar Massacre_."

"They named it?" I croaked.

"God…" Paladas muttered. I regained my posture, and started telling again.

"So once I figured out what happened, I resigned and fled to the east. My father never knew what happened of me."

"The moment we found out about this," Colonel Fuzz began, "Rufius Malth was stripped of his rank and brought before a special hearing of the Hesskel."

"They're the rulers of the Immortals," I explained to Paladas.

"I remember sentencing him myself," The Colonel continued, "Immediate death by beheading."

"You were on the Hess… Hesskel?" Paladas asked.

"Yes. For a year, anyway. Found it dreadfully boring. It was all paperwork and politics. So I requested demotion to colonel, since that is our highest rank that can stay in the field," The Colonel finished. At that moment, a wagon carrying several cannons a few horses in front of us stopped suddenly, its wheels stuck in the mud. "This is taking too long…" The Colonel muttered. He pointed to two Immortals and motioned to the wagon. The two dismounted and ran up to help push. The Colonel turned to me. "You know, that incident was the only incident something like that happened. You lost out on many opportunities, but they aren't gone forever. You can still rejoin."

I looked to the ground.

"I don't know…"

"I'll let you think about it."

The wagon finally cleared the mud, and we continued on in silence.

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_**And there's chapter nine. Hope you enjoyed, and have a**__**n awesome**__** Christmas.**_


	11. Chapter 10: The Masked Devil

_**I guess I've kept you guys waiting long enough. Or have I?**_

_**Seriously though, sorry for the really long wait. I've just been so busy lately I've barely been able to get on the computer at all, much less work on the story.**_

_**Here's Chapter 10**_

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"Open fire!"

"Fire!"

"Keep the left flank covered! Keep the gunpowder dry!"

"Shields up! Spears forward! March!"

"Crossbows, aim and fire at will!"

Through this harmonic chaos of battle, Paladas, Colonel Fuzz(surprisingly without his guards), Herinion, and myself followed the monks under the ruined outer gate of the monastery. The Immortals had arrived at the perfect time to intercept a noob mass attack, and lines of spear-toting soldiers supported by cannons and crossbowmen kept the horde at bay.

Cardinal Lombardi led us into the heart of the monastery, pausing at a small, inconspicuous doorway.

"You must know, that what I am about to show you has never been seen by anyone outside our order for hundreds of years. It is-"

"Yes yes," Fuzz interrupted, "Let's get to it." The Cardinal took a long look at him, as if worried, and turned to the door, withdrawing a key from his robes. The key fit into the lock easily and the door creaked open. He grabbed a torch off the wall, and walked into the darkness.

The Cardinal wordlessly led us through secret passages, hidden doorways, and past several rooms filled with warrior monks. Several times it got so dark Herinion had to light the top of his staff to spread the meager light offered by Lombardi's torch. We stopped in front of a large door several heads taller than myself. Herinion muttered several indiscernible words and a small, irregular hole materialized in the stone of the wall. Cardinal Lombardi withdrew a very odd-looking key and inserted it into the lock. He turned it, and the door glided open soundlessly on oiled hinges. I peered forward, fascinated.

Before us lay a gigantic ornate staircase, leading deep into the earth. I knew not its length, for it disappeared into the darkness of the chasm around us. I looked behind me and saw Colonel Fuzz nodding slightly, as if he was recalling something.

"Before you lies the staircase. If you will-"

Paladas stepped in front of him, and kept him from walking onto the staircase.

"What are you showing us, exactly? I'm not going any farther until you explain just what the hell we are doing," Paladas said angrily. Fuzz stepped up.

"I'm sure we can all see when we get there-"

"Enough stalling. Tell us," I said. Fuzz sighed and mumbled something.

"Go ahead and tell them, Lombardi, it won't make any difference," The Colonel said. Again, the Cardinal scrutinized him. Frowning, he turned away and looked at us.

"I always hate telling this story… there's so much sadness and suffering and hate…" The Cardinal sighed, and blinked several times. "You probably know this as the Unending Death, or the Plague of Isathi, named after the first noble to be killed by it."

"I know of it," Paladas said, "It wiped out nearly all sentient life on Gielinor. It was a terrible plague… so I've heard."

"It was no plague, Knight. Come, I'll tell you while we traverse this staircase. Watch your step."

We stepped onto the staircase and began our descent as Cardinal Lombardi wove us a terrible tale of death.

* * *

Hawk crouched under the tree, trying to get some relief from the unrelenting downpour. It had been relatively easy to escape from the White Knights' prison during the chaos; all he had to do was bribe one guard to look the other way as he climbed out of the tower. The Immortals were a whole different thing. He had to crawl through a sewer opening in the wall to bypass them. Still his equipment hung on the branches, the downpour hopefully washing out the smell. So he sat wearing only a thin tunic and pants, shivering and wet, looking at the stormy sky. For as far as he could tell through the thick overcast, night had fallen.

"What the hell…?"

Hawk pushed his hair out of his eyes and stared. About a mile or two towards the horizon sat the monks' monastery. Hawk could hear sporadic cannon fire popping in the distance, but what really got him was what was happening _over _the monastery. Dark clouds, nearly black, swirled in a circle above the holy building. Still staring, Hawk stood up and started shaking out his dragonhide armour, slipping it on. Soaking wet, Hawk started heading towards the darkened monastery.

* * *

"The exact date it began is unknown. All that we know is that it appeared without warning."

"What appeared? The plague?"

"Yes."

Cardinal Lombardi stopped his descent on the staircase and sighed. "This time of death was caused by a… _thing_. Not by spirits or ghosts, but by some sort of sadistic entity that seemed to hate all sentient life.

It started small. Deaths started appearing more frequently, mostly in their sleep. People didn't take much of it, until the deaths began in the day. That's when the stories began. People told tales of a ghost appearing in their house and killing a relative, then disappearing."

"You said it wasn't a ghost."

"It wasn't, but to these people it looked like one. According to the texts, it was a black mist that seemed to materialize out of thin air. The most obvious part, however, was the elongated mask that floated in front. It was the only physical part of the entity, but it appeared and disappeared along with the mist.

It wasn't long before the wave of death spread from rural communities to the cities. More deaths occurred. They appeared at night, mostly in discreet, private areas. When found, the victims looked as though they had suffocated to death in their sleep."

Cardinal Lombardi paused, then pointed his lantern ahead. At the end of the stairs stood a large iron door, embedded in the stone. "We are here. It will take me some time to open this door. Herinion can tell you the remainder of the story," The Cardinal said as he took out a pouch of powder and stepped towards the door.

"Colonel," I whispered, "You spoke as if you know of this. Did you study it while in the Immortals?"

He shifted. "Sure, kid."

"Now, as Lombardi told you, the authorities believed this to be a massive plague, but they had no idea what it was. There were no patterns to the deaths. The healthy got it, the sick got it, the men, the women, the children, and there were no symptoms. Mages and doctors were stumped. The plague jumped all quarantine barriers, it broke all counter-plague measures. However, they still believed it to be a plague among only the peasantry, until Lord Terrance Isathi of Edgeville fell victim to it.

It was during a celebration for one of Misthalin's victorious military campaigns. It is said that Lord Isathi was giving a toast when, directly in front of him, a white, elongated mask materialized without warning. The mask had floated above the table, staring directly into his eyes until a black mist began forming. It is generally believed that this is the time the Unending Death began in Gielinor, for at that moment, the mask brutally killed Isathi, tearing him apart. It then went on to kill several other nobles and military commanders, along with the guards who tried to stop it. It then disappeared. This is when things got bad."

"Bad? As if it wasn't bad before?" Paladas commented.

"Yes. From that point forward, deaths increased massively. People died in broad daylight, in public, by the hundreds. And it wasn't just suffocation, either. People were slaughtered, torn apart, killed in every way imaginable. Soon, whenever a killing occurred, people would stampede away from the area, trying to get as far away as possible. Little did they know it would just follow them. It could appear anywhere. Nobles would lock themselves on far away private islands in stone castles, surrounded by ships and armies, only to have the mask appear in their bedchambers."

"How terrible…"

"Didn't anyone fight back?" Paladas asked.

"Some tried, but all efforts to kill the mask were in vain. I remember one account where a powerful sect of wizards attempted to destroy it with an old spell found in their archives. Their bodies were found lumped in front of Camelot castle. Not a scratch was on them, except their bones were missing."

"Why didn't the gods intervene?! There was more than enough cause!"

"That's the scary part. Apparently, none of the gods by themselves were powerful enough to stop it. Even Guthix could not destroy it. Because of this, many explanations were given to _what _the mask was. Some believe it was the god of death, but we think different. We think it was the bastard offspring of creating sentient life, or an evil equilibrium spontaneously generated to balance the 'good' and 'ordered' side that the gods represented. But ultimately, we don't know. I doubt the gods even know."

"So… how are we alive today?"

Herinion grinned. "Because the gods did something they never did before the creation of the universe. The killing continued for years, and sentient life was slowly becoming extinct. After each of the gods in turn failed to protect those under their guard, the gods put aside their differences and banded together to destroy the entity. However, even the combined power of all the gods couldn't destroy it. So, with the help of all of Gielenor's most powerful spellweavers, the gods sealed the entity away. The majority of its power was sealed on a different realm, apart from Gielenor, in a massive structure built by the gods known as the Pyramid of the Dead."

"So the remaining physical power was sealed…"

"Here."

A loud clicking echoed through the chasm as the door Cardinal Lombardi had been opening unlocked. I glanced over as he gripped the handle. I had been expecting it to open like the others, silently on oiled hinges. Instead it creaked loudly and chunks of dust and rocks fell from the seam when it moved.

"This door hasn't been opened for at least a decade. We had hoped it would never have a reason to. I might need some help opening this," Lombardi said as he pushed against the door. Paladas and I went over and helped him open it. As I did, I stole a look inside, poking my head in the crack of the door.

I yanked my head back in as the blunt end of a spear swung through the opening, nearly cracking me in the head. I jumped back and grabbed the hilt of my battleaxe.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Oi! You idiots! Stop swinging those bloody sticks!" Herinion yelled into the door. Paladas and Lombardi strained against the door, opening it enough to look through.

A group of five warrior monks stood there, three with drawn bows pointed at the door, the rest holding spears. They were visibly relieved to see Lombardi, but they kept their weapons focused on us.

"Easy lads, we're here with Lombardi," Colonel Fuzz said. The men didn't relax. That is, until Lombardi waved his hand, dismissing them. They relaxed and the lead one, a tall bald man with a short beard stepped forward and addressed us in a deep, baritone voice.

"Your eminence… why are you down here, in this evil place? And with these strangers? I pray nothing has gone wrong."

"Nothing has gone wrong, Ferdinand… I merely must show them what we have been guarding for all these centuries. Don't worry. It is good to see you all again."

As they exchanged pleasantries, I looked inside the doorway. Beyond the initial group of monks were several dozen more, mingling about in a large cavern. Small houses littered the ground, along with small fields of crops. Paladas was next to me, staring.

"What is all this? What…"

"When this all this was first made, one hundred warrior monks volunteered to come down here and live, making sure nothing happened that we didn't want to. Since we can't deliver goods regularly, the monks make their own living, growing their own food."

"How? There's no sunlight down…"

He stopped as he saw the shining ball floating near the cavern roof, some hundred feet high. It was bright, almost as bright as the sun. Ferdinand explained.

"That is Saradomin's gift to us. It acts as a miniature sun, and gives us the peace of knowing he sees everything directly through that. It is his symbol that he is here with us. It all that keeps us from constantly thinking what is through that door." He pointed at the end of the cave, where a small steel door sat.

"What is behind it?" I asked, although I thought I already knew.

"It is where It is held."

We stepped towards the door, the monks escorting us. All around us the other monks glanced at us as they meditated or tended their gardens. I couldn't shake the feeling Saradomin himself was watching us as well, looking through the ball overhead. Soon we arrived at the door.

The little door had nothing wrong with it, but simply looking at it nearly made me sick. Colonel Fuzz stepped forward and inspected the door. There was a handle, but it was locked. He turned to Lombardi.

"So tell me, priest. Why are you showing this to us? Why reveal an ancient secret to us?"

"Because the mask is responsible for beginning the plague of the noobs." Before we could say anything, he continued. "You see, it happened when the gods banded together and launched their attack on the entity while it was over Varrock. The mask and the Gods fought a titanic battle in the sky, supported by our mages. After the mask realized it could not win the battle, it invoked a sick and terrible spell. It summoned the souls of all the millions of people the mask killed and forced them into one twisted form. It created a monster that fled into the wilderness as the gods finally defeated the dark entity. Attempts were made to try and find it, but it had simply disappeared."

"That is… unfortunate, but what does it have to do with us?"

"So, near the end of the battle, when the mask was almost defeated, a man in Ardougne in a deep coma, began convulsing and babbling incoherently. Among the ravings the nurses claim that he said the words of the mask's last thoughts. It is said it was captured on a commorb left recording in the room. Herinion, do you still have our copy of the recording?"

Herinion looked up and said, "Of course." He took out a commorb from his robes and spoke several words into it. He held it out and faint voices emanated from it. Soon, they were loud enough to hear throughout the cavern.

"_Doctor! Doctor!"_

"_Hold him down! Keep him-"_

"_Watch out!"_

_-Crashing-_

"_Keep him down! Someone fetch some shackles!"_

The sounds of struggling continued for a few minutes, and then a voice came out that sent shivers up my spine. The inhuman deepness and rasping of the voice seemed to chill my very soul.

"_Vos mos totus intereo you pathetic vermis Sie alles sterben you think it is over I will tear your limbs off ego mos traho the flesh from your skull meus nex vadum incurro vos amo maggots in puter somes of vestri prosapia I will rip your soul from its body I mos rip vestri spine ex vestri own tergum I will-"_

Herinion silenced the commorb and put it away. "From that twisted ranting our order managed to pull a message from the dying entity's words. According to this prophecy, once the time came, the creature that fled into the wilderness will attempt to revive the dark entity."

"So you're saying…"

"The creature unleashed the noobs, and the noobs are trying to free the mask. We are telling you this so you understand how serious this situation is. We need the bulk of your Immortals to dedicate defenses here so that this monastery does not fall. This mask is not a legend, Colonel. We brought you down here to prove it."

Colonel Fuzz pondered the Cardinal's words, and looked up.

"So you're saying behind this door… is the mask. Will you open it?"

"No!" Herinion and Lombardi both yelled so loud that Paladas and I jumped, and startled monks looked up from their gardens. Lombardi moved closer to Fuzz. "Opening that door will not release the beast, but it will get us far closer to it than I will ever want to be. I had hoped all this would be enough proof for you, Colonel."

The Colonel nodded and began slowly walking away.

"Proof? All the proof that I've seen, Lombardi, is a long secret passageway and a bunch of light-starved monks. I've seen no magical mask. So tell me, Cardinal, why I should risk my men in defending a mask that might not even exist?!"

The Colonel said this with anger, but I saw something beneath it. Was he… trying to get Lombardi mad? Paladas stepped up to the Colonel.

"What are you doing," He whispered, "Why are you not helping them?"

The Colonel ignored him and kept walking away. Lombardi let out a sigh and called out, "Colonel! Stop…"

Colonel Fuzz stopped, and glanced over, his one eye on Lombardi. "We'll let you in. Just do exactly as I say while inside." Fuzz smiled and began walking back.

"I'm glad you came around."

Lombardi and Herinion went to the door and began chanting a spell. The door clicked, and it slowly opened inwards by itself, revealing nothing but darkness. At Lombardi's motioning, the Ferdinand and his warrior monks took positions around Fuzz, and we all started walking in.

Upon passing the doorway, I suddenly felt a great heaviness on me, as if the darkness above was suddenly like water. Things felt as though they moved slower. Lombardi's voice broke through the darkness.

"Everyone stop. Don't worry; the strange feelings are all side-effects of being so close to this… thing. Herinion, some light, please."

Herinion's staff glowed a bright white, illuminating the room. It was a cavern, much like the one behind us, but it was slightly smaller. And the ledge only extended ten feet before it dropped into darkness.

About five feet from the edge of the ledge stood a pillar, about ten feet across. Its bottom disappeared into the blackness. Beyond that was a pillar maybe twenty feet behind that one. It was a mere two feet in diameter, and on it sat a small wrought-iron box.

"Is that…?"

"Yes."

Colonel Fuzz stepped closer to the pillar, peering at the box.

"Well, you got me convinced," he said, turning towards Lombardi. "Tell me, for purely defensive purposes, how would the… noobs go about freeing this mask-entity?"

Lombardi visibly hesitated. Knowing he had no choice, he said, "All it would take to reawaken the mask is a sentient mind to get close enough to the box. They would have to be put on that pillar." He pointed to the empty pillar in front of the box.

"That's it? That's all that one would have to do to awaken the beast?"

Lombardi didn't answer, but merely turned and kept looking at the box.

"Good enough."

I heard one of the warrior monks around Fuzz yelp in pain as the Colonel smashed his elbow into his face. Ferdinand gripped his spear and swept it through the air at Fuzz's head, but he dodged it and kneed the monk in the stomach. As the monk doubled over, Fuzz hefted him over his shoulder and trotted to the edge. My stomach sank when I realized what Fuzz was going to do.

"Stop him, Ivan!"

I pulled out my battleaxe and took several steps towards Fuzz. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, maybe I thought I could disarm the aging Colonel and restrain him. It didn't matter.

I wasn't even able to raise my battleaxe when I felt a sharp pain slash over my face, making my helm fly off into the chasm. With a cry I fell back, losing hold of my axe. Blood was dribbling into my eyes, nearly blinding me, so I saw what happened next in a daze. Paladas attempted to rush Fuzz and was soon doubled over, cursing and clutching his stomach. Herinion was casting a restraining spell but was too late.

The Colonel hefted the struggling monk and with strength not fitting for his age, threw him the five or six feet onto the pillar in front of the box. Ferdinand hit hard and lay still. We all stopped and watched silently, anxiety in all of us.

The monk slowly lifted his head and looked at the motionless box. The color drained from his face and he started to slowly get up. He was almost standing when he grabbed his head and began screaming and writhing on the pillar. The screams echoed throughout the cavern and were almost painful to listen to.

"Help him!"

I don't know what we could have done to help him, but it didn't matter. He was still struggling when he was lifted into the air by some unseen force. He was turned to face the iron box. The box began warping, bending outward. An object whizzed by my ear and hit the wall, and it took me a second to realize it was a bolt from the box used to seal it. A few more bolts popped from it, and then the box exploded, sending a mangled iron plate smashing into each wall and ceiling of the cavern, except for the rear one which went flying into the darkness. In the box's place on the pillar sat a mask.

The mask was elongated; it looked as though it would fit a horse. Up near the top were the eyeholes, and through each eyehole was a crevasse traveling the length of the mask. I looked at the top and I saw actual hairs growing sparsely. It was a truly horrible thing.

The mask's eyes glowed yellow for a brief second, then dulled to nothing, just two holes in the mask. The mask slowly floated into the air, dust and dirt falling off. A black mist began forming around it. Ferdinand was turned to face it, and the mask looked into his eyes. Ferdinand began screaming louder. I shuddered and tried to look away, but I continued to watch.

Ferdinand began screaming even more painfully, and abruptly exploded in a shower of gore and flesh, showering the mask in blood. I don't think it did, but I swore that mask almost smiled, if it could have.

"Oh my god," Paladas said. The bloody mask turned its head towards Paladas as he said this and looked at his eyes. Paladas fell to his knees, hands clutching his head. He began screaming as the eyes continued to bore into him. As the seconds ticked by, I finally picked up my fallen battleaxe and in desperation, wiped the blood out of my eyes, and threw it through the air towards the mask.

"Ivan don't!" Herinion said as his staff glowed a deep red. The axe clipped the mask near the top, an otherwise lethal hit, but it merely made a dull '_tink_' and the axe fell into the darkness. The mask released Paladas, then turned to me and stared. I tried to look away, but a voice entered my head.

"_Inviso mihi, vermis."_ The voice rasped. I couldn't help but glance and saw the mask staring at me. Its gaze pierced deeper and deeper in my eyes… and it felt calming. My body relaxed and right as I was about to speak I grasped my head and began screaming. The absolute worst pain I have ever felt in my life reverberated throughout my head. I fell to my knees, the mask still staring, laughing in my head as I writhed. I was about to start bashing my head into the ground when I looked up and saw a fireball fly through the air towards the monster.

The fireball slammed into the face of the mask. The pain lifted immediately, and I let one hand prop me up as I gasped for breath. I saw Herinion breathing heavily as he watched the mask get engulfed in a flame and get blown away, spinning, into the darkness. The black mist slowly disappeared, and we all stood on the ledge, watching into the blackness.

"It'll be back. Don't worry."

I turned my head to see Colonel Fuzz standing there, looking over the edge. The remaining warrior monks lay dead at his feet. "That was quite a spectacle."

"Do you realize what you have done?! You have-"

"I have set in motion what should have been done long ago."

Herinion took several slow breaths, and pointed his staff towards Colonel Fuzz.

"You're insane. We should have never brought you here." He said as his staff started glowing red. Colonel Fuzz spread his arms out, as if welcoming the attack.

"Here I stand mage."

With a snarl, Herinion sent a fire wave flying towards Fuzz. The Colonel smiled slightly and disappeared a split-second before the wave hit, causing the fire to pass harmlessly through thin air.

"Damnit!"

Black tendrils of mist began coming up from the blackness. Cardinal Lombardi took a step back and looked at us.

"Herinion, you have to take these two and follow that traitor Colonel. He'll be surely trying to free the rest of the mask. Teleport to Camelot. Make sure-"

"What? We're not just going to leave all of you here." Paladas said.

"You have no choice. The other monks and I will stay here and try to slow the mask." Paladas began to rebuke, but Lombardi raised a hand and Paladas disappeared with a _bang._ It took a moment to realize that Lombardi teleothered him away. "There's no time to argue. Go!" The black mist began floating in the air, and the mask itself hovered in the middle.

I pulled out the correct runes and watched Lombardi. He nodded at me, and I teleported just as the mask lunged at him.

* * *

**Somewhere between the Dwarven Mines and the Goblin Village**

Stars danced in front of my eyes as I flew through space. I could faintly see Falador on the horizon. I would be there in just a few more seconds…

_SMASH!_

"Son of a bitch! Agh!" I lay sprawled on the grass, dazed, a hand to my head. It felt was though I had run straight into a brick wall. Sitting up, I looked around. I sat on a hilly grassland, definitely not Camelot. Raindrops splashed my face; the downpour had turned into a steady drizzle, and the sky was still overcast.

I heard a _bam _as Herinion appeared and was stopped in the same spot I was. He was soon on the ground in the same position, a few feet away from me. I got up to my feet, rubbing my throbbing head. Herinion was doing the same, murmuring curses. I looked around, and Paladas stood twenty feet away on a hill, holding Beortast and slowly backing away. A stranger with a Robin Hood hat stood next to him, firing runite arrows at a steady pace, until he turned around and began running towards us.

"Hawk! It's you! What's going-"

"No time to explain! Get up!"

Hawk helped me up by my arm, urging me forward. A few feet away Paladas helped Herinion up, and we all began running to a larger hill, where a large oak tree grew. I stole a glance behind us to see what was happening.

Noobs were running up the hills after us, screaming and moaning. There couldn't have been more than a dozen, but they were gaining fast. We stopped at the oak tree as Hawk nocked an arrow. A noob fell as the arrow pierced his thigh and was trampled as the noobs ran hungrily at us. Another one fell soon after. Paladas and I took positions in front of Hawk, Paladas bearing Beortast. I hefted my shield and reached for my battleaxe- only to realize I lost it. I cursed and drew my dragon dagger.

"I am too old for this," Herinion grumbled as he cast an Earth wave at the noobs. The first five or so were crushed as chunks of earth dislodged themselves and flung themselves at the noobs. The remaining four threw themselves at Paladas and I. Paladas swung his sword upwards in a large arc, leaving a deep gash in the torso of a noob. A noob jumped at me and vomited blood in mid-air. I snapped up my shield and felt the chunks of coagulated blood thud on the shield. I swept the blood-covered shield in an arc at the noob, nearly cutting its head in half from the sharp obsidian on the shield's edges. Another noob leaped at my blindside, but it was caught in the forehead with an arrow in mid-jump

The last noob was dispatched as Herinion casted a wind wave at it; we watched as it was blown into the air, landing twenty feet away with a crunch. I took a breath and unstrapped my shield, letting it fall to the ground next to me. Hawk looked at it with disgust.

"That thing has infected blood all over it… I don't think you'll be using it anymore."

I merely nodded. Hawk looked at me in the face and handed me a rag.

"Who did that to your face? Where's Colonel Fuzz? What… what the hell happened?"

"We'll tell you later," Herinion said, "But we need to contact the Hesskel _now_."

Hawk let out a sigh and covered our backs with an arrow nocked on his bow. I wiped my face with the rag, wincing.

"Let's just teleport to Camelot."

"We can't," Herinion explained, "The Kandarins must have set up some sort of teleportation blockers all over this area. That's why we were stopped here."

"Herinion!"

We looked up to see Paladas standing on a hill, the same one he and Hawk were standing on before. We jogged up and saw the entire battlefield outside Falador. The Immortals were holding the line, but they were falling back. The lines of cannons and spearmen had inflicted terrible casualties on the noobs, but there just too damn many.

From here we could see the Kandarins evacuating civilians into Taverley, but it was only a matter of time before the noobs pushed through the cannons and soldiers.

"They're abandoning Falador…"

"Come on! We have to get in before the noobs overrun them!"

We ran down the hill, towards the Taverley gate. Looking back, I saw the oak tree we had just taken cover under get struck by lightning and begin to burn.

* * *

**On the coast north of Rimmington**

Colonel Fuzz watched as the two Immortals rode towards him. The two were leading a rider-less horse between them, as planned. The two Immortals stopped a few feet in front of him, and the Colonel mounted his horse and prepared to make off.

Just before he kicked the animal's sides, he saw a pigeon flying towards Falador. An object was tied on the bird's leg. The Colonel tugged off his gauntlet and whistled. The bird turned and landed on Fuzz's outstretched arm, looking around. Colonel Fuzz untied the small paper and sent the bird on its way, unrolling the message with one hand.

"Sir?"

The Colonel rolled up the paper and put it in a saddlebag. He pulled out his helmet and put it on, latching the leather belt while spurring on his horse at the same time, and said,

"Let's go. We have a lot to do."


End file.
